Road Trip
by fuzzi fox
Summary: Noctis had erased Ardyn from history. Without the ancient Royal to absorb the Blight, the disease grew out of control, infecting the landscape itself. When Noctis sets out for Altissia to wed the Oracle Lunafreya, she tells him it is time to awaken the Six, to drive back the Blight together. With Luna and his friends at his side, Noctis must fight the Empire, and the Blight.
1. Setting Out

This is a story that was rolling in my head for a while. If Ardyn was literally erased from history, he never would have absorbed the blight that turned him into the Accursed. Without the blight being tempered all those years ago it would have spread worse than we see it in the game. The story's main pairing is Luna/Noctis with an eventual Ignis/Aranea. Rated M to give me the freedom to write without worrying about violating any terms of conditions. And thank you to my friend Radiklement for beta-reading this along the way!

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"Couldn't ask for a nicer day," Gladiolus, the Prince's Shield, expressed his gratitude that the rainy season's storms weren't plaguing them. He and his friends were escorting Prince Noctis to the piers of Galdin Quay to catch a ferry to usher the young man to wed his betrothed in the flood-city of Altissia. The often shy young man had been even quieter than usual, and the shield tried to think of a way to break the tense silence that had been cloaking them since they departed from their home city of Insomnia. The wordless tension was broken by the mad clicking of Prompto's camera shutter,

"Needs some shots of ya buddy while you're still free and single!" the blonde man's cheerful voice announced over the music pouring out of the radio between the blips of static as Ignis, the car's driver, tuned through the various stations until he found one he was satisfied with. "I can almost hear the jingle of your ball and chain inching its way towards you," he gave an exaggerated sniff, running the back of his hand under his dry nose before wiping at a non-existent tear. "Ah, the price of peace,"

"You're gonna scare him off buddy. Don't think the King would appreciate you convincing the Prince here to call off the wedding and bring the Empire raining fire down on us," Gladiolus interjected, leaning forward in his seat to punch Prompto's arm.

"Hey, just kiddin' around! I don't think lover-boy here would call of the wedding with a gal as lovely as Lady Lunafreya! Man, every guy in Lucis would kill to be in your boots buddy," Noctis let his friends tease him, keeping his comments to himself. He was embarrassed to admit he was thrilled that it was his Luna he was betrothed to. He had feared for half his life that he would be given the hand of a girl he never met, rather than the childhood friend he had the fortune to visit twice a year.

"I'd tie him up and drag him to Altissia if it came down to it," Gladiolus quipped back,

"Weird though, the King didn't send us to Cape Caem to take the royal yacht. Taking a ferry to your own wedding? Not exactly screaming 'royalty' if you ask me,"

"That's the whole point. King Regis wanted Noctis to see some of Lucis, see life as an average citizen, and to keep a low profile," Ignis, ever the logical one in the retinue of friends, explained. "He himself took a similar trip before his own wedding to Queen Aulea,"

"Yeah, my old man told me about that trip," Noctis's voice finally joined the conversation. "I think Cor and Cid were with him. Speaking of which, we should stop at Hammerhead see if Cid is still alive and kickin," he added, recalling the stories Regis would tell him about the old mechanic. If was remembering correctly, he was the one who helped restore the Regalia, a classic car older than the King himself. As if the car sensed Noctis regarding it as old, the engine began to sputter as steam hissed out of the hood and the car coasted to a stop.

"This does not bode well…" their driver stated calmly as the rest of his friends began to wine and curse. The car began to smell like burnt sugar, a sign that the car was overheated, a fact that he shared with his friends. Gladiolus announced that it was obvious the car was overheated, which got a glare from Ignis that for a moment Noctis thought would set his shield on fire.

"What do we do now?" Prompto asked, fearing the answer.

"Call for a tow?" Noctis suggested, Ignis shaking his head negative.

"The only tow companies I know are in Insomnia, and none of them will leave the protection of the wall, and we don't have the spare cash for a tow this far into the middle of nowhere." He explained, getting a collective groan from the group.

"You mentioned Hammerhead Noct, why don't we call them?" Prompto suggested,

"I don't know the number," the Prince admitted. "Not that we have service out here anyway,"

"Don't you dare say it," Gladiolus groaned,

"We shall have to push the car the rest of the way. I do believe Hammerhead is the closest garage," Ignis was the one to say it after several painful moments of silence

 _Stand by Me_ began to play on the radio, and Noctis felt like the car was continuing to mock him for daring think of it as old. _Stand by me my ass. You couldn't even get us to the first fuel station!_ He thought as he groaned pushing the car. His friends were pushing on the bumper on either side of him, but it still felt like he was trying to push the damned thing on his own. After an hour of pushing and endless complaints, the group of friends rested in the middle of the road, too exhausted to even push the car off to the shoulder. Ignis's attempts at encouragement fell upon deaf ears, and it was Gladiolus's threats to make everyone train by pushing the Regalia more if they didn't get up that finally motivated the entire group to get moving again.

"Finally!" Gladiolus groaned, rolling his shoulders, as the Regalia came to a rest in front of the Hammerhead Garage. He sat on the ground between two of his exhausted friends, the group panting for breath. Prompto was half asleep in the driver's seat of the car, it having been his turn to steer rather than push. The others were too exhausted to vocalize their celebrations at managing to bring the damnable car to the garage.

"Seems y'all had some trouble out thar" a young woman's voice called forth, "this car's a beaut, what'd 'y'all do to it?" she walked up to the car, patting the hood.

"Overheated," Noctis explained, standing up and brushing his palms against his pants. His other friends also stood, brushing their palms off as well, Prompto nearly falling out of the car in his attempt at nonchalance. Ignis extended his hand, attempting to introduce himself,

"Can ya pop the hood for me?" she asked, unaware of the attempt at polite introductions. She reached for the Regalia, sliding her fingers under the hood to find the latch after she heard the _click_ of the release. She lifted the hood and peered inside, "well I see yer problem," she announced near instantly, cocking her dusty blonde head. "ya' radiator is a mess!" She began to rattle off the names of car parts, shaking hear head and placing her hands on her hips.

"Can you fix it?" Noctis asked, concerned about the list of parts the mechanic had named, and doubted they had enough money on them.

"I do believe introductions are in order," Ignis attempted again, feeling impertinent discussing services to be rendered before a proper greeting. "I am Ignis," He briefly wondered if it was wise to make Noctis's identity known, but quickly appeased his own concerns recalling that this garage belonged to an old friend of Regis.

"Cindy," she replied simply before striating and extending her oil-stained hand. Prompto took advantage of the advisor's hesitation, and shook her hand,

"Prompto. The big guy over there is Gladiolus, and the cloud of brooding silence over there is Noctis," the youngest of their group proclaimed with enough enthusiasm that the young woman took a step back after he finally released his iron grip handshake.

"As in the Prince? Well, I thought this here car looked familiar," the grin on her face did not bode well for their wallets. "Well, y'all prob'ly heard 'bout my Pawpaw Cid," she thumbed towards a geriatric man sitting in a half-broken lawn chair under an umbrella that looked too warn to be of any practical use. Ignis immediately felt skeptical about the girl and her skill as a mechanic. He firmly believed that what one wore to one's work spoke volumes, and her outfit left far too little to the imagination. The excess of exposed skin made Ignis wonder how the woman worked with machines all day. Her clothes were hardly protective. She wore a jacket that looked made for a child over a brightly colored bra, the shorts she wore were so limited in length the pockets stuck out several centimeters past the hem . Her skin seemed to have more stains on it than her limited clothing did.

"We are a bit short on funds, but if you send an invoice-"

"We ain't gonna be sendin' no _invoice_ ," the mechanic cut him off. "if y'all are short on cash, hit the diner. We're always in need of a good hun'er or four. Go see if Takka's got a job or two for ya. Bound to be payin' 'nuff for ya to get yer car fixed," she grinned at the group before returning her attention to the Regalia, "leave this beaut to me, she'll be fixed 'afore ya know it," The four men stood in surprised silence for a moment, not expecting to be told to go earn some cash by the grand-daughter of their King's old friend. Ignis ushered the men towards the diner before any could voice protest.

"I'm starving… can we at least eat before we have to go beat things up?" Noctis requested, but didn't hear his advisor's reply as a tuft of black fur caught his attention. "Umbra!" his mood brightened significantly at the sight of the black and white shiba inu, bearing his trademark facial markings, looking as young as he did when he first met the pup twelve years ago. The dog wore his usual green scarf, a worn red leather bound notebook carefully tucked within its folds. He ruffled the dog's fur, "how you doing buddy?" the dog yapped, wagging his tail. Noctis reached for the notebook, removing it carefully and flipping the pages until he found the most recent message. A purple cactuar sticker took up a large portion of the page, and beneath it in too-neat cursive was Lunafreya's message,

 _Waiting for you in Altissia, it has been far too long. I miss you, impolite to keep me waiting longer._ The words were familiar and teasing, making him chuckle. He thumbed the page, a new surge of impatience running through him. For two weeks every six months for the past eight years, the empire loosened their usual tight border policies to allow the Crystal's Prince to visit the Oracle, his dearest Luna.

 _Soon we won't have to wait so long to see each other. I miss you too._ He wrote his answer in his nearly illegible chicken scratch. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sticker of a cartoonish tonberry, frowning at how it had become crumpled from sitting in his jacket pocket for so long. Since childhood it had been a habit to keep a sticker in his pocket at all times so he would always have one available for the spontaneous times Umbra showed up with their notebook. He let his eyes linger on her careful handwriting, reading the short sentence once more before closing the notebook; tucking it into Umbra's green scarf and watching the dog run off.

The group went into the diner and sat at the counter, staring up at the limited menu. _Not many options,_ Noctis thought to himself. He shrugged and placed his order, his friends doing the same.

"So, Cindy says you might have some work for us?" Gladiolus called to the cook as the hiss of meat hitting the hot griddle joined the dim music in the quiet diner.

"Funny you should ask boys," the bald man turned to them, wiping his hands on the front of his apron. "Been havin' some sabertusks causin' trouble for the locals. "Think you can handle it?"

"We can handle anything," Gladiolus boasted, eyes trained on the meat sizzling on the griddle rather than on the face of the man talking to him. He knew he was letting his hunger get the best of his manners, and forced his attention back, "what's this job paying?"

"700 gil," Takka replied,

"800," Gladiolus quipped back, earning an indignant glare from Ignis who felt rude demanding a higher reward with no proof they deserved it,

"740, and I'll comp your meal this time. If you ask for more I'll give this job to someone else," Takka replied, not much in the mood for haggling. Gladiolus looked ready to protest, but a jab in the ribs from Ignis kept his mouth shut, and agreed to the reward price.

"So, where are these trouble-making animals?" Gladiolus inquired,

"The weaverwild fields, just north 'a here. But you best be careful, those critters pack one hell of a punch. You let 'em bite 'ya and ya ain't likely to be doin' much more huntin'" The chef explained.

"We shall be most cautious," Ignis answered to cut off whatever overly confident response Gladiolus would have ready at the tip of his tongue. The chef thanked them and returned to cooking their meals.

"So how far is Galdin Quay from Hammerhead?" Prompto asked, his leg bouncing restlessly,

"About four hours," Ignis replied "Feels like we've already been on the road for two days," Prompto complained. "Man I'm starved," he added, the smell of the cooking food beginning to get the best of him.

"Pushing a car can have that effect," Ignis replied, doing his best to ignore his own hunger. Rather unsuccessfully. Their food didn't take much more time to cook, the plates presented to the retinue of friends. Three of the men immediately began to greedily shove food into their mouths, but Ignis took a moment to study the dish. He used his fork to push around the various ingredients, smelling them carefully. "Hmm…" he hummed, and took a bite to confirm what his eyes and nose had told him. "that's it," he said aloud, recognizing the peppery smell as having come from the local wild leide peppers. They were an extremely common wild forage, but notoriously difficult to cultivate.

"What's it?" Gladiolus asked through a mouthful of food,

"A new recipe," he answered matter-of-factly. "Leide peppers are very hard to get in Insomnia due to the difficulty in growing them domestically. But they are everywhere in this province, easy to forage. Perfect for making a simple camp chili," he explained, letting his pride get the best of him for a moment before he cleared his throat and returned to the task of enjoying his meal.

"If it's even half as good as this bowl I'll definitely never complain," Noctis voiced his approval of their campfire cook trying to replicate this dish. He looked up from his bowl to extend the compliment to the man who had actually made the food, getting a hearty thanks in return.

"So, about this hunt," Ignis began, shifting the conversation away from the subject of food, "sabertusks are large lean canine-like creatures with dangerously long teeth. They're fast, making them difficult to hit with a melee weapon. Prompto, I do believe your firearms will be most effective. Their lack of body-fat makes them quite susceptible to the cold," he explained,

"I have a few flasks, but I haven't gathered anything for elemancy yet," Noctis replied. "If you want me to craft a couple blizzard grenades we'll have to find some elemental crystals,"

"It seems we cannot rely on that tactic. If we come across any crystals we'll call it serendipitous fortune but until then we shall have to rely on our more traditional combat abilities," Ignis admitted. Once their food was finished they left the station to head towards the aforementioned field to find the troublesome wildlife. They were unable to find any elemental crystals to fuel Noctis's elemancy, but the feral beasts were not hard to spot.

The lack of brush made the finding of them quite easy, but a stealthy approach impossible. The snarling and yipping told the group they had been spotted, the tactician announcing to prepare themselves. Noctis called forth his Engine Blade, thrilled to test himself against something other than Gladiolus's sparring challenges. Prompto thumbed the safety on his pistols off, Ignis drew his daggers, and Gladiolous took several practice swings with his greatsword, announcing similar sentiments as Noctis. The animals seemed as anxious as the royal entourage as they charged forth, bearing their teeth. The lithe figures gave the creatures an otherworldly appearance, the shifting bones beneath skin they looked more machine than animal.

"Hell yeah! Time to hit a _moving_ target for once!" Prompto shouted, the sharp bark from one of his guns echoed across the empty plain like thunder. Noctis flinched beside him, slapping a hand over the offended ear,

"Damnit Prompto! Not so close to my head!" his words were slurred, unable to hear his own voice beneath the loud ringing in his ear. The distraction was enough for a sabertusk to impact the Prince. His back hit the hard ground painfully, the impact forcing the air from his lungs. The continuing high-pitched tone drowning out Gladiolus's angry shouts into nothing more than a dull slur, the man's greatsword swung into the animal's hips, throwing it away from the grounded prince. The shield forced a potion into the hand of his charge. Noctis drank it quickly and felt the sharp pains in his ear and back vanish, breath suddenly finding its way back into his lungs,

"Thanks man," he mumbled, his voice clearer with his hearing restored,

"Thank me by paying attention!" his shield snapped, attention turned back to the wounded sabertusk he had knocked away. Noctis rushed to his feet, gripping his Engine Blade tighter,

"Blame Prompto! He shot a damn gun half a meter from my head!" he snapped defensively to cover his embarrassment at starting the fight so pathetically; though he certainly planned to have words for the blonde gunner once these damned creatures were exterminated. The offending shot had felled one of the sabertusks, Gladiolus finishing off the one that had pinned Noctis to the ground. _Two down five to go,_ he thought to himself, _four_ he corrected, realizing Ignis was leaping over the fallen skeletal corpse of a third. Determined to make up for this pathetic start he warped towards the sabertusk that was charging at Ignis's back. His engine blade sunk into the animal; it let out a pained howl and tried to buck against the blade. _Damnit, I need to practice warping more,_ he lamented as he struggled to stay standing with how dizzy it had made him. The brief lapse in focus allowed the animal to kick out its back legs, claws tearing into the fabric of Noctis's pants. He fell back, startled by the pain and the static in his head. The cursing off to his left told him Ignis was struggling a bit as well, his voice somehow louder than the angry yelps coming from the wounded creature that was struggling with Noctis's trusty blade still firmly planted into its back, desperately kicking against the ground. Noctis bit his lip and forced himself to stand, ignoring the way his vision tunneled for a moment, and snatched the blade to quickly dispatch it before rushing to aid Ignis who was pinned beneath a sabertusk as he himself at been.

"Thanks," Ignis nodded, grasping Noctis's hand to help him stand. They turned to count how many remained in the pack to find that Prompto and Gladiolus had finished off the last two.

"Oh thank the Six…" Noctis commented, and sat on the ground, calling forth a potion and poured it onto the wounds on his legs to disinfect them. The bleeding stopped, and the potion's sting left the wounds numb after it faded. "These'll leave scars…" he complained.

"That was pathetic," Gladiolus snarled, coming up behind Noctis and pushing him completely to the ground, knocking the empty can from his hand.

"What the hell was that for?!" Noctis snapped, rushing to his feet, but his shield punched him in the chest knocking him right back down to the ground for his efforts.

"I trained you better than this Noct!" he shouted. He sighed, and reached a hand to help Noctis stand back up. "Since when do you let me knock you down so easy?"

"I guess I am rusty…" He admitted with a sigh.

"Come on, help me get all these carcasses together so Prompto can snap a picture as proof we killed the whole pack of 7 like Takka explained," Gladiolus requested, shifting subjects.

"Speaking of rusty," Noctis mumbled and turned on his heels to glare at Prompto, "why did you fire that gun so close to my head?!"

"I didn't realize how close you were! I just got a little… overenthusiastic to try these things out against a moving target!" he replied defensively, putting his hands up, "sorry man," he grinned, and Noctis rolled his eyes and helped his friends drag the sabers close enough together for Prompto to snap a photo as evidence of a job well done before walking back towards Hammerhead, the walk occupied with Prompto apologizing, and Gladiolus complaining that there was no meat on the creatures.

"Hunt completed!" Prompto announced as he marched through the door of the diner, proudly holding his camera above his head, sitting at the counter to hold the device out with the picture of their job well done on the display,

"Well, color me impressed. Wasn't sure a bunch of city kids would'a been able to handle that," Takka smiled, "guess I owe you boys your payment as promised," he vanished into a back room, and emerged with the promised money. "Y'all seem new to this too, here," he held out a card, "Dave asked me to hand these out to any new hunters. Keeps track of hunts, so folks know how experienced you are. Keeps the green hunters from being given things they can't handle yet," he explained. Noctis was about to shout a retort about not being _green_ until he recalled how terribly this hunt had gone. He pulled out a device from under the counter and swiped the card through it, explaining how each hunt was worth a certain number of points, and after so many points are accrued the hunters in question gain new ranks. "You're still at the first rank, but keep up the good work and you'll be rank 10 'afore you know it,"

"Uh, thanks," Noctis replied, taking the card and tucking it away before turning to his friends, "let's check if Cindy has the Regalia fixed up yet,"

"Agreed, I'd like to reach Galdin Quay before it gets too late," Ignis replied. They walked over to the garage and found the blonde mechanic.

"Sure is," she answered to Ignis's inquiry as to the Regalia's readiness.

"So, what do we owe you?" Ignis asked,

"Twelve hundred gil, but because ya boys are so handsome, I'll give ya a discount and give the keys back to ya for a thousand," she grinned, and Ignis had the distinct feeling that one thousand was the price to begin with, and she lied about the extra two hundred to flatter the group. By the look on Prompto's face the flattery seemed to be effective on at least one of their group.

"Takka only paid us seven-forty for the hunt," Ignis explained. "The Prince here-"

"Can surely do a job for my Pawpaw" she cut him off with a smile, "to cover the last of the repairs," Ignis sensed that arguing would hold no merit and agreed with a reluctant sigh.

"What job is this?" he asked, and she gestured towards Cid, the elderly man who was still lounging where he had been when they first arrived. The group approached the man, and inquired about the job that would let them get back on the road.

"Got some vermin I need takin' care of," he explained.

"If you mean those seven sabertusks, already taken care of," Ignis replied, and was surprised at their luck. Perhaps they would reach Galdin in time to catch the final ferry of the day.

"Y'all thinkin' that those animals are the only vermin we worry 'bout in these parts? You buys sure got some learnin' to do. Life outside that fancy wall isn't as easy as you're used to," he replied gruffly.

" _Another_ hunt?" Prompto wined,

"Yes, another hunt. We don't do repairs for free here, unlike the Citadel some of us out here gotta _pay_ for food and shelter," the man nearly growled.

"Hey-"

"Just tell us what vermin it is you need us to care for," Ignis cut Prompto off before he made a further ass of himself. He knew Cid was trying to goad them, and chose not to humor his hostile words. While life in Insomnia was not as idyllic as Cid was implying, it was far from the hardships faced by those outside of the wall's protection. Out here they faced the scourge, and the daemons that emerged after dark. The city lights had long protected the city's citizens from ever facing that threat. The rest of Lucis was unable to boast such fortune.

"Got some reapertails that've been itchin' to sting anyone who walks so much as a foot away from this station, bad for business, scarin' everyone away. Go kill 'em and I'll consider the repairs paid for. Pay no mind to Cindy teasin' ya about giving us that gil you earned from Takka, do this for me and I'll consider it payment in full," Cid explained, and explained to the confused man what a reapertail is, and where to find them.

"We best purchase a couple more energy drinks, we used our only two potions during that hunt," Ignis suggested,

"Wouldn't have had to if Noctis paid attention," Gladiolus commented, with more levity in his words.

"Wouldn't have needed that first one if _Prompto_ remembered not to fire one of those things _next to someone's head!_ " He passed the teasing onto the blonde,

"Hey I took the first one out with that shot!" he bragged, "I killed more of them than any of you!" he bragged,

"Okay children, settle down," Ignis waved his hands at them and walked to the small shop. The selection was poor, but luckily they carried the necessary cans to have Noctis convert into potions; though they lacked the drinks that could be turned into more potent curatives. "better than nothing," Ignis reassured them, handing the drinks to Noctis.

"Let's get this over with, we're gonna miss the last ferry at this point," Noctis complained.

"You won't miss your wedding by arriving in Altissia a day late," Ignis tried to reassure his friend, giving him a playful pat on the back that echoed Prompto's addition of _lover-boy_ , and Gladiolus's joke about Noctis's anxiety about the night _after_ the ceremony was complete. The oversized insects proved to be far easier prey than the sabertusks. Their enlarged size did not mean they were any more intelligent than any other insect and the job was completed far sooner than the gang expected.

Ignis was relieved to be back behind the wheel of the Regalia, the radio tuned to a station they could all agree on. Noctis had fallen asleep in the back seat, Prompto and Gladiolus playing King's Knight allowing the driver to enjoy the drive alone with his thoughts. Driving the car always felt therapeutic, and he almost lamented that the drive to Galdin Quay wasn't longer. They only stopped once per Gladiolus's request to stretch his long legs after being cramped into the car for so long. After a round of snacks purchased with their minimal funds they were back on the road, and were pulling into a parking spot at Galdin Quay shortly before nightfall.

"Noct… wake up," Ignis shook his friend's shoulder, denying Gladiolus's request to wake the Prince by carrying him over to the ocean and throwing him in. The advisor couldn't tell whether or not the man was joking, as he never could tell with him. Especially when Prompto was seconding the suggestions. _Honestly, sometimes I think they're all children._ "Noct! Get up!" he shook him harder, finally jogging him awake.

"Ugh…" he groaned, "let's go rent a room and get to bed. All the fighting and driving wore me out,"

"Gotta agree with Noct there. Weird though, you sleep an awful lot for a dude from a city named _Insomnia_ ," Prompto teased

"Har har. Haven't heard that one before…" Noctis finally got out of the car, and headed into the small resort to inquire about a room.

"Oh man, you smell that? Can we eat before we get a room?" Prompto asked, enamored with the smell of fresh seafood that surrounded them once they made it up the steps into the Quay proper.

"We don't have the gil for that," Ignis replied. They saw a man standing at a wooden podium that stood as a service desk, the sign on front designating it as the check-in location for the resort's hotel. "Good evening,"

"Evening sir! Welcome to Galdin Quay! Are you looking for a room?"

"Indeed we are. How much for a room?"

"Ten thousand gil," he answerd, his tone as cheerful as if he had answered it only cost _ten_ gil. Ignis nearly choked on his own tongue, and fought to maintain his composure.

"Ten thousand?" He cleared his throat, trying to eliminate the high-pitch it held, "Thank you sir, but I am afraid we're a bit short,"

"There's a good camping spot just a bit that way, just past the fishing piers," he offered, clearly used to guests having to turn down the expensive offer. He walked away to rejoin his friends who decided to sit at the round hightop that surrounded the quay's kitchen. Gladiolus was leaning on the table, giving the young woman tending to the fires his most charming smile.

"Hey Iggy, get us a room?" Noctis asked, and yawned to punctuate his question,

"I am afraid the resort is a touch out of range of what we can afford,"

"Maybe the quay has a hunt we can do to cover the last few gil?" he suggested. Ignis sighed, deciding to lose the delicate wording,

" _Far_ out of range, not something a couple hunts would cover," he explained. "Ten thousand gil," he answered the question before it could be asked, and the look on Noctis's face mirrored the expression he tried to suppress himself. "There's a camping spot just a bit beyond the piers," he explained. "Good thing we packed our camping gear," he added.

"Aw man, I was so looking forward to an actual _bed_ ," Prompto complained, giving up on trying to talk to Gladiolus who was clearly too preoccupied talking to the quay's chef.

"Did you say piers?" Noctis asked, interest piqued.

"Yes I did," Ignis replied with a knowing smile,

"Well, there's a silver lining to this after all. We packed all my fishing stuff, right? Why don't I catch us a little dinner?"

"I thought you just wanted to go to bed?"

"I can put of sleep a little longer if it means I can do a little fishing," he smiled. "Comin' guys?" Noctis had stood from his seat, eager to enjoy his favorite hobby. It had been months since he'd last had the opportunity to. _Last time I went fishing was with Luna._

"Yeah, anything to get away from listening to Gladio practice his best pick-up lines," Prompto chuckled, following Noctis as he head in the direction Ignis had indicated.

"Coming Gladio?" Ignis asked, having to ask a second time in a louder voice to catch his friend's attention.

"I'll catch up to you guys, just enjoying a conversation with Camilla here," He replied, returning to the aforementioned woman who's cheeks were flushed from whatever the man said to her once she had his attention again. Ignis shrugged, feeling the Prince could survive a couple hours without his shield this close to a well lit resort. He wasn't surprised to find Noctis was already sitting at the edge of a pier with his fishing rod out in the water, a fresh fish lying behind him.

"You didn't waste any time," he commented,

"Plenty of fish in this spot, I should be able to catch plenty for us to eat," he replied.

"Where's Prompto?"

"Scouting for that camping spot you mentioned." He answered. "Relax already Iggy, we've had a long day," he added.

"If you live up to your word and catch plenty of fish I'll get my own relaxation cooking something good, I should still have my spices packed with our camping gear," he paused for a moment, "I'm going back to the resort, see if they sell ingredients," he added after several moments. Noctis acknowledged him and heard the footsteps fade, and switched his attention to the fish that was tugging on his line. Prompto reappeared as he was reeling in the second fish,

"Damn! Look at that thing!" Prompto commented, staring at the fish Noctis was dragging onto the dock with both hands. "I think that thing alone can feed all four of us,"

"Don't underestimate Gladiolus's appetite," Noctis replied.

"Uhh… I wouldn't expect him to join us anytime soon," he replied, "He was pretty chatty with that cook," he clarified. Noctis shrugged,

"How's that camp site?"

"Nice and flat. We won't be rolling over onto any big rocks in our sleep tonight," he explained. "Few elemental crystals too, can get those flasks of your filled up,"

"I hope we won't need them. But I guess it can't hurt to fill 'em"

"Where's specs?"

"Went to get some ingredients for dinner," Noctis contemplated catching another fish, but knew the two he had could feed everyone, even if Gladiolus did join them. No need to kill more fish unless he intended to eat them. They didn't have to wait long for Ignis to rejoin them, and the trio made their way to the campsite, Gladiolus having assured Ignis he could find the campsite later when he was ready to rejoin them.

"Not like Gladiolus to shirk his duty to Noct," Ignis pondered,

"We're not in the middle of nowhere, he's probably confident we're close enough to the resort that I'll be fine," Noctis offered,

"I'm more worried about the wildlife than assassins," Prompto teased, earning a punch on the shoulder for his words. "Ow! Hey, not my fault you nearly got mauled by a sabertusk, _twice_. In one battle."

"I told you! You deafened me with your gun!" He defended, his cheeks growing hot,

"Sure, sure. Whatever you gotta tell yourself, man, wonder what your Lady Lunafreya would think if she knew a skeletal cat kicked your ass!" he laughed, and took off into a run, closely chased by Noctis, Ignis simply shaking his head at their antics, picking up the fish Noctis had dropped to chase after his friend.

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I hoped you find this story off to a good start!


	2. Heavy Burden

**This chapter is a bit short, I apologize, but nonetheless I hope you enjoy it. We get to see a little bit of Luna.**

 **I'd like to try and keep a strict update schedule for myself of every Tuesday with this (very random day I know)**

 **And since it can be a sensitive thing for many people, a physical abuse trigger warning here.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

"Noctis," a voice called. The Prince groaned, burying his face deeper into his pillow. His sleeping bag was far too comfortable, despite the hard ground beneath his back. Sleep was calling him louder than this obnoxious voice. "Noctis!" a little louder, but still far quieter than the voice of his pillow singing him a lullaby. "Damnit Noct! Get up" Noctis was finally fully awoken by Gladiolus's gruff voice, and fully jerked from sleep as he was pulled out of his tent.

"What the hell?" he complained, struggling not to fall once the shield let go of his wrist. He looked around him, annoyed to find it was still the early dawn hours. "It's barely morning! Let me go back to sleep," he mumbled,

"After yesterday I figured you could use a little training," was the _very_ unwelcome answer

"Then get the others up too. They were just as pathetic as me. And I didn't see _you_ take out that pack of sabers by yourself!" he snapped defensively, feeling grumpy from such a rude awakening. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to get his blurry vision to focus. "Can't I at least eat first and have a little coffee to wake myself up?"

"Train at your worst, and you'll be stronger at your best," Gladiolus recited, almost sounding like Ignis for a moment.

"You're not gonna let me sleep or eat until I agree to this, are you?" Noctis asked, voice slurring as his words dissolved into a yawn,

"Damn right. Now, follow me. And take your shoes off," he explained, and began to walk away from the camp down towards the shore.

"Why my shoes?"

"You'll see," the shield answered, and refused to answer any more of the Prince's questions. He protested against this gruff treatment, again inquiring as to why the others weren't being put through the ringer. This question went ignored as the large man explained what he had in mind to train his charge.

"Running on sand is very hard, and even harder barefoot. You beat me to that dock over there," he pointed to the fishing dock where Noctis had caught their dinner the night before, "and I'll let you get back to sleep. If I beat you, then you agree to a sparring match,"

"If it'll get you off my case…" Noctis reluctantly agreed. Gladiolus confirmed he was ready before initiating a countdown. On his mark Noctis burst into a sprint, and was immediately surprised by how difficult it was to try and sprint on sand while barefoot. _He wasn't kidding!_ He was determined not to lose this race. The last thing he wanted was to have to spar with Gladiolus this early in the morning. Being covered in bruises was not high on his to-do list at dawn. _Come on body… just survive this.. survive this and we can sleep_ he pleaded with his protesting limbs. Whether it was his own desperation, or Gladiolus taking it easy on him, by some miracle of the Six he made it to the dock hardly three footsteps ahead of his shield.

"Well, I guess sleep is a good bribe. I'll have to keep that in mind," Gladiolus laughed, watching Noctis double over, panting for breath. "We'll have to do this more often! Look at you!" he chided, tisking at the young Prince. "One little jog and you're completely winded. I guess I've been taking it too easy on you,"

"Cut me a break man… you yank me outta my tent and have me go sprinting across a beach barefoot without even giving me a chance to wake up!" he replied defensively. "Now, can I go back to bed?" he asked,

"A deal's a deal," he agreed. "But don't think I'm gonna let it go how bad that hunt went," he threatened, getting a dismissive wave from Noctis who staggered back towards camp, pulling himself into his tent, too tired to care that his feet were covered in sand, meaning soon his sleeping bag would be too.

The second attempt to rouse the prince later that morning was far easier, the young man reluctantly emerging from his tent after his name was called the first time. Ignis had eggs-in-the basket cooking on his cast iron skillet, and the smell of coffee was a divine welcome to his groggy mind.

"You're my savior Iggy," he praised, dropping himself into his camp chair as the adviser handed him a cup filled with the black liquid. "We have any sugar?" he inquired.

"Not much, but here," Ignis held out two sugar packets, which Noctis accepted gratefully and poured them into his coffee, wishing they had creamer as well but doubted their short trip had merited packing such supplies.

"Sleep well?" he asked,

"Like a babe," Prompto interrupted, sipping his own coffee.

"I would have too, if the Ox over there didn't decide a race at dawn was fun," Noctis added, rolling his eyes,

"How did this race go?" Ignis's question was absentminded, not giving the impression that he cared much what the answer was. Noctis described the race, and his lucky win, admitting that he had a feeling Gladiolus let him win. The shield held his tongue on this subject, but told his other two friends he hadn't forgotten about their poor performance during the sabertusk hunt.

"Don't think you're getting away so easily," he warned Prompto. "You're up next,"

"Gonna race me too? You know I'm _way_ faster than you man, these skinny legs are fast," Prompto bragged, slapping his thigh,

"No. You're going to spar with me," he insisted.

"That's it? We've done that a hundred times!"

"Not so fast there, dial it back until you let me finish," Gladiolus threatened. "You're going to do it with earplugs in. You nearly deafen Noct, you're gonna spar me deaf," he explained, fishing a pair of plugs out of his bag, "I always have some with me. It's the only way I can get some sleep with your incessant snoring," he continued.

"I'm not putting those in my ears! I don't want your earwax, you can keep it. Make a candle out of it or something," Prompto fought back, wrinkling his nose. "Sparring I'll do. Sharing earwax… not so much…" Gladiolus moved far quicker than a man his size had any right to move, grabbing Prompto's collar and forcing a pair of earplugs into his hand, telling him sharing earwax would be the last of his problems if he didn't put them in. He followed up the earplugs with some gauze and tape from Ignis's first aid kit, must to the man's chagrin, before deciding he was satisfied. He asked the photographer if he could hear him, getting annoyed gestures in return which told the man he had indeed accomplished his task. Properly handicapped, Gladiolus withdrew his greatsword, and gestured to the engine blade Noctis was holding out. Both his guns and machines were too dangerous for a sparring match, and the Shield figured fighting deaf with an unfamiliar weapon would provide enough of a challenge that Prompto would never forget basic firearm safety again.

Prompto was hardly given time to gather his bearings when Gladuolus charged him, the smaller man lifting the engine blade with only just enough time to deflect the opening blow. He was knocked off balance by the impact, and immediately felt disoriented by not be able to use his ears to figure out where Gladiolus was. Until it was stripped from him, he had underestimated how important his hearing was to a fight. He turned, rolling out of the way of a second blow and scrambled to his feet, lifting the blade and swinging it at Gladiolus, but his thrust was quickly deflected, nearly knocking it from his hand but he managed to maintain his grip and his stance, bringing it up a second time. They continued their awkward dance, Prompto finding himself knocked to the ground more times than he could count, and he began to promise himself he would glue the grossest picture he could take into his books for every bruise he found on himself later.

"Okay okay, point made! I won't deafen anyone again!" Prompto shouted after the engine blade was knocked out of his hand once again, and Gladiolus sent him crashing to the ground with a kick to the back of his left knee. "I give I give!" He was shouting, unable to control the volume of his voice adequately. Gladiolus was smirking at him, and he was sure Noctis and Ignis were laughing at him. He freed his ears and began rubbing at them madly, glaring at the hand his friend was offering to help him stand. He ignored it, getting up on his own, groaning with the effort. "Did you really have to go _that_ hard on me?" he complained, rolling one shoulder while he massaged it with his free hand. Noctis collected his engine blade, the weapon vanishing in a blue flash, before handing Prompto a potion. "Thanks Noct," he panted after chugging the drink in one go, giving a loud belch from the bubbles in the energy drink it had been crafted from.

"Yes I did have to go that hard on you," Gladiolus insisted. "You understand now why firing your gun so close to Noct's head was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen you do?"

"Yes, it was dumb, but c'mon man, be real, you've seen me do far stupider," Prompto joked, feeling refreshed from the potion, the deep ache in his joints vanishing.

"Yeah, true," Noctis answered, "actually, blowing out my eardrum is probably not even in the top ten!" the photographer glared at the Prince, and had half a mind to tackle him to the ground but he had no desire to endure another fight after the epic ass-beating he received at Gladiolus's hand.

"Okay now Ignis's turn, don't want him to feel left out!" he offered, responding to Ignis's agitated glare with a broad grin, giving him two thumbs up, to which Ignis gave one finger in reply. "Oh, that's not very proper for the Prince's adviser! Not very diplomatic of ya!"

"I did not nearly deafen a member of royalty," he pointed out, but this only caused Gladiolus to glare at him, to which Ignis responded with a very confused expression, "You're not suggesting-"

"Training for you too? Bet your ass specs. Now get your swim trunks on, you're racing me in the water."

"I did not pack any. I abhor swimming," the man answered with a smug smile,

"Then borrow a pair of Prompto's shorts, you're about as scrawny as him, and get your ass down to the water or I'll drag you down there in your current clothes,"

"If you think for one moment-" his voice was cut off as Gladiolus picked up in a fireman's carry over his shoulder, and began to stalk down towards the water as the man began cursing aloud, and bitterly agreed to a swimming race. He absolutely detested swimming. Public pools smelled of chlorine and left him feeling wretched, and natural bodies of water were even worse. Fresh water was filled with sediment, living creatures, and the Six know what else. The ocean of course left him coated in salt. His skin was crawling at the mere thought. He hoped Gladin Quay would have a shower they would allow him to use without charging an exorbitant room rental fee for the privilege. It took nearly every thread of his willpower to change into a _clean_ pair of Prompto's shorts, and follow the Shield to the water. He grimaced at it, knowing that the clarity was an illusion. He would emerge from this misguided venture with offended skin. Despite his hatred for the activity, he surprised Gladiolus with his competence. He lost the race, but managed to not drown, or look like a frantic child in the water. His strokes were inefficient, but his friend admired the effort.

"You're full of surprises. For someone who says they hate swimming, you looked like you at least know how,"

"Using my hatred of swimming as an excuse never to learn would have been fool-hearty. Even I can attest to the necessity of learning how not to drown. Are you satisfied now?"

"I'm done torturing you," Gladiolus relented. Ignis stated his intentions to plead with the Galdin Quay staff for access to a shower, assuring Gladiolus he would reunite with the retinue shortly. He nearly told Gladiolus he would inquire how Coctura's night went, but held his tongue in fear of another revenge swimming lesson to further curse him. While he understood the need for some training to highlight their sorry state as Noctis's protectors, why swimming of all things? He promised himself to find a way to get revenge eventually, and began to roll various ridiculous scenarios in his mind as he walked to the quay.

A light breeze disturbed the curtains framing the open window of the bedroom that served as a prison to the Oracle. The young blonde woman sat in an armchair, enjoying the relief from the summer heat with a book. A white dog rested beside her chair, sleeping soundly. The breeze was providing a much needed reprieve from the unusually warm air, and she was lamenting that she couldn't be outside in the Sylleblossum field to enjoy it. A small yap drew her from her reading, a smile lighting her face as a small black dog trot into the room bearing a green scarf. She smiled at the dog, placing a small tassel into her book before setting it on the table before her so she could stand and walk over to greet the canine. She knelt down before him, scratching his ears straining to contain her excitement. She pulled the notebook from the green scarf, flipping it open to the latest page. She couldn't restrain a chuckle at the sticker Noctis had chosen, her fingertips tracing it before her thumb brushed over the dry ink of Noctis's distinctly messy handwriting.

 _Soon we won't have to wait so long to see each other. I miss you too._

She was set to depart for Altissia the next morning, the wedding set to happen in two weeks' time. Six long months since she had seen him; the thought alone was almost painful enough to sting her eyes. She needed this. The scourge was growing harder and harder to keep at bay. She felt as if the days were shorter than they once were when she was a child. No matter how many she healed, there were so many more infected with the blight coming to her for aid. She could hear talk amongst the Empirical soldiers about dire situations back in Nifleheim. Many a day she feared she would be taken from Tenebrae to try and purge Nifleheim. _Together we'll finally cure our star._ She thought. A loud knocking on her door jarred her from her thoughts.

"Just a moment." She called. She stood, and quickly shoved her notebook under her bed's mattress, intending to hide it properly later. She walked over to the door and opened it, trying not to flinch as she saw the imposing form of Caligo Uldor. She felt her heart begin to race in her chest, fingertips going numb as she looked up into his brown eyes. He smiled at her, nudging her aside as he entered her room,

"My Lady Lunafreya… how are you this fine evening? Unseasonably warm, is it not?" He inquired.

"Quite. I am well, sir. Yourself?" her words a mere formality. She shut her bedroom door, eyes tracking him as he turned his back on her to walk to where she had been sitting before the window, picking up the book she had been reading.

"We both know you care little for my wellbeing." He answered. Silence provided her answer, the hair on her arms prickling. He flipped her book over to look at the back. "Fond of fantasy are we?" he asked her, and she gave him a curt nod in reply. He placed it back down on the table and turned back to her, walking up to her. "Excited for the wedding?" he inquired.

"I am happy to do my part to bring about peace." She stated simply.

"And to an old childhood friend. Curious." He answered. She hardly had the time to flinch as she saw him move, his gauntlet impacting the side of her chest with enough strength to force the air from her, knocking her down to the floor. She clutched at her ribs, gaping for air as she strained to recapture her breath. Pain erupted down her side, radiating through her stomach and for a moment she feared she would turn her most recent meal onto the floor. She felt fingers in her hair, jerking her neck back to force her face to level with his, "Do not think for one moment that your union to this Lucian Prince changes things Lunafreya… this marriage is merely a means to an end. Insomnia's walls cannot stand for much longer, it was inevitable for the Lucian and Fleuret lines to be united under the banner of Nifleheim. But you are still the Empire's Oracle." His voice ground out. His fist struck her side again, this time finally forcing her to cry out. "A gift for the Prince to find on your wedding night." He let go of her hair, and she dropped to the floor, clutching at her side struggling for breath. She heard him walk to the other side of the room, and she failed to control her flinch as he approached her again, and her book slapped against the floor a palm-length from her face. "Do enjoy the rest of your story." She heard his footsteps retreat, her bedroom door open and shut, leaving her with only her own gasps.

Lunafreya felt a pair of noses push against her, and she opened her eyes to find both her dogs had trotted over to her. She tried to smile at them, reaching out to give them each a quick pat in turn. She groaned, using one hand to help herself sit up, the other still clutched tightly around her chest. It took several minutes for her to feel like her breathing was close to normal and stood, wincing at the sharp pain in her side. She reached for her fallen book, and slowly got back to her feet. Sure that her smarting ribs would protest the offense of trying to sit upright in a chair, she decided to lie down in bed. She placed the book she was reading on her pillow, and knelt to the floor so she could reach under the mattress to fetch her notebook without having to crouch. She sat on her heels for a moment, her fingers brushing the aged cover of the object. It was not their first notebook, it having been filled many years ago and stowed away somewhere she knew the empire could never rob it, or the others, from her. She gave herself a moment to gather her willpower and stood, inhaling sharply through her teeth. With deliberate movements she climbed into her bed, straining back a cry of pain and settled against her pillows with a groan of relief, closing her eyes as she tried to relax her tense muscles.

"Soon the Oracle and the Chosen King shall unite." A gentle whisper of a voice found her ears from across the room. Lunafreya opened her eyes and saw Gentiana walking towards her with smooth graceful steps, her hands hidden in her sleeves. "And united they shall join with the Six to purge their star of the Scourge." She continued, stopping her approach when she was beside the young woman's bed. Her gaze met the ebony haired messenger's.

"It is time to awaken the Six..." She replied, her heart began to race when she realized what the messenger of the Six was telling her. She would never shy away from her duty, her destiny. But now it was time for Noctis to bear this burden, and she wasn't sure she was ready to see this strain put onto his shoulders. She pondered if she should travel to awaken the Six alone, and allow Noctis to forge his covenants at his own pace. _No. The Starscourge must be stopped. We are destined to do this together._

"The Oracle and her King must rise to their calling." _Her King_. She felt a tug of emotion at the words, of the thought that she could soon call Noctis _hers._

"As husband and wife." She answered in a whisper, her thumbs brushing against the notebook in her hands.

"Alas… the messenger fears the wedding will not occur. Blight has warped the mind of the Emperor. The Oracle and her King must flee the floating city. Lucis. This is where you shall find Ramuh. Find him. Awaken him. The Chosen must face his trial." The words drained the color from Lunafreya's face as her eyes locked on Gentiana's.

"The wedding… is a trap?" she questioned, fear rising in her heart. She looked down at her hands for a moment, imagining Noctis sliding a ring on her finger and forced the thoughts away. She looked back up to find only two dogs sitting at her bedside. She frowned, worrying her bottom lip as she beckoned them onto the bed. They leapt up, curling close to her causing her to whine as they tried to settle next to her chest. She shifted slowly in the bed, biting back a cry. She pushed them gently away from her side, and the dogs resettled closer to her hips while she sat back against the pillows and opened her notebook, rereading the lines Noctis wrote to her and trying to find the hope inside of them.

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 **So the game removed much of Luna's backstory for being "too dark" and I decided to put some of that darkness back in.**


	3. Diplomacy

Here's chapter 3, I hope you all enjoy it!

 **KingPlotBunny** : You are correct, this is basically the adventure frequently referenced in Piece of Tenebrae. I'm glad you like the darkness being put back into her backstory, I really wish the game never took it out. It really is a powerful piece of her past that the game would have benefited from.

 **Guest:** I'm happy you like the changes so far, and hope you continue to like what's to come. And poor Luna indeed... but I can't imagine her life with the empire was very pleasant.

 **Megumeru16:** I'm happy you're finding this story off to a good start :) I hope you like this chapter as well!

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Ignis was greeted back to camp with taunting about how he managed to stay away just long enough to miss out on his share of having to help pack up. He told the others to blame Gladiolus for making him swim in salt water with so little time left before having to head to the ferry. But said man responded by walking up to him and dropping a pair of camp chairs into his arms, ignoring his protests that he needed to brush his hair prior to the walk back to the Regalia. Grumbling about how the Prince's advisor should look more dignified he carried the chairs up to the vehicle with his friends.

"How did you manage to talk Galdin Quay into letting you use a shower? Those rooms are _expensive_!" Prompto inquired, slamming the trunk shut. Their camping gear was packed, and their duffels were slung over their shoulders. Ignis felt weary about leaving the Regalia anywhere for so long, and promised himself he would text Cor to come fetch the beloved vehicle back to the Citadel while they stayed in Altissia.

"I promised to share one of my recipes with Coctura." He answered simply. Prompto seemed dissatisfied with the brief answer, and he elaborated, "I saw she was making pancakes and she was lamenting how breakfast was not her culinary forté. I supposed I bragged a bit about how I know how to make the fluffiest pancakes in Lucis so she told me to prove it. I suppose I must have succeeded as she allowed me access to a shower free of charge. As well as comping my breakfast."

"You got a Galdin Quay meal for _free_?! Not fair! You should have brought some back to us!" Prompto complained, the other two in the retinue echoing this sentiment. He smirked that he was now on the other side of torture, deciding that his salty swim was worth it in the end. They made their way through the Quay, Ignis giving a polite wave to Coctura but noted her flushed face was tracking Gladiolus. He sighed, rolling his eyes, and hoped that the wait for the ferry would not be long.

"Someone is bound to die on these stairs," Prompto complained as the retinue descended the steep staircase down to the pier to wait for the ferry. There was only one other man there, and the way he immediately smirked at the group set them all on edge.

"So, the rumors are true." His voice chimed, a cocky grin crossing his features. Noctis lifted a brow, and couldn't help but wonder where this strange man was from based on his distinct accent. Gladiolus stepped so he was between this man and his charge. "The crowned Prince himself, gracing us with his presence." He elaborated, and everyone bristled. _So much for staying incognito._ Noctis thought to himself.

"Your point being?" Gladiolus prompted.

"Well, I suppose that the Prince here wants to stay under the radar. But what would the people think if they read an article about how their shy Prince thought he was too good for them, sneaking by them all to skip away to the resort city of Altissia."

" _Excuse me._ " Noctis interjected,

"Just hear me out," the man put up his hands. "The name's Dino. I'm a reporter by day, jeweler by night. I'm willing to make a deal. I won't run a story about ya if ya do me a solid. Go get me an Amethyst, I'll tell ya where to get one, and I don't run any articles about our Prince here." He offered.

"You want me to go get you a gemstone in exchange for _not_ trying to turn Lucis against me?" Noctis asked. Dino looked about to reply, but the confident smirk on his face vanished when Gladiolus lunged forward, picking the man up by the front of his shirt,

"You're trying to _blackmail_ the _Prince of Lucis_ , the day he's trying to catch a ferry to marry the Princess of Tenebrae, per a peace treaty to keep Nifleheim from burning us to the ground. Am I understanding you right?" the large man ground out. Dino gasped as he was jerked to his feet, his hands grasping at the man's wrists.

"Whoa whoa ya making it sound worse-"

"Worse than it is?" Gladiolus finished for him. "Well do tell how _you_ would describe how this 'do me a favor or I write a scathing article' _isn't_ some asshole trying to _blackmail the Prince."_ Fear flashed in Dino's eyes, and Gladiolus seemed satisfied at his apparent terror, releasing his shirt and letting the man drop to the ground and scramble to his feet, backing away. "That's what I thought. Tell you what. I'll do you a solid. You pretend you never even thought of your damned article, and I _won'_ t write to King Regis that some shitty reporter in Galdin Quay named… Dino was it? Tried to blackmail his son into missing the ferry to his wedding that the entire future of Lucis relies on for peace." After several seconds of tense silence Gladiolus took a step towards him, the man quickly back stepping.

"Uh… you got it big guy."

"So, _sir,_ I think you mentioned you were catching the evening ferry? Gives you plenty of time to get to that Amethyst node you were talking about wanting to mine."

"Right you are!" he gave Gladiolus a thumbs up gesture, side stepping and palming his surroundings until he found the stair railing, quickly sprinting up them and out of sight.

"Way to go big guy! Saved the day!" Prompto laughed, walking up to him and slapping him hard on the shoulder.

"Yeah, thanks man." Noctis added. "Knew I kept you around for a reason." He added with a smirk. He walked over to the bench where Dino had been sitting, dropping himself into it and pulling his phone out of his pocket to fire up some King's Knight until the ferry arrived.

"Was that even real?" Prompto asked, joining Noctis in thumbing his own phone on and the game's music blasted out of his speakers, Noctis almost immediately telling him to turn the volume down before he deafened him _again_ and echoed his question, laughing a bit as he thought about it.

"Nerve of that guy… if I ever see him again I swear to the Six he'll be too busy trying fishing his precious Amethyst out of his ass to even try and remember Noctis's name let alone have the balls to even _think_ about him again." Gladiolus grumbled. He turned to Ignis, and asked about the ferry learning that it was due in a half hour. They played King's Knight to pass the time, and eventually started joking about various imaginary tabloid articles.

"Lucian Prince: Royally Aggressive. Word has it the shy Lucian Prince assaulted a reporter earlier this week by placing a gemstone inside the man's colon. The reason for this act of violence is not known, but the reporter states he has yet to be able to retrieve the object despite medical assistance." Ignis recited, his tone convincing enough it sounded as if he had been reading an actual article.

"Lucian Prince: Will we ever have an heir? Rumors have it that the Lucian Prince, newly married to the Oracle, has been suffering from performance anxiety and has been unable to perform his husbandly duties." Gladiolus added, earning himself a hot glare from Noctis.

"Funny. Real funny." He remarked, rolling his eyes and turning his attention back to his phone, shoulders slouched.

"Could you imagine the look on Lady Lunafreya's face?" Prompto burst out laughing, "Exclusive interview with the Oracle: are the rumors true? Read next week's article to find out!"

"I'm going to kill all of you." Noctis mumbled. The ferry's horn warned of its approach, interrupting the conversation and the four men looked up. "I should have asked this before, but you have our tickets, right Ig?"

"Codes are on my phone." He reassured the prince, gesturing with the device. They waited for the boat to dock, the passengers to disembark, and the subsequent horn announcing they could board. Ignis showed their ticket codes and the retinue boarded the ferry, and made their way to the back corner on the top floor of the ferry where they could enjoy the sea breeze and maintain an illusion of privacy.

"I hear Altissia is a sight to behold, the waterfalls are rumored to even put the floating islands of Tenebrae to shame." Ignis remarked, gazing across the sea where their destination lay just beyond the horizon. Noctis doubted anything could match the beauty of Tenebrae. The sprawling fields of sylleblossums, the floating islands that appeared to defy all logic, the distant mountains. He swallowed hard at the thought that the next time he saw Tenebrae it would be with Luna by his side as his wife.

"Guess we'll see."

"We gonna get to see Tenebrae?" Prompto asked, foot bouncing as he sat in his seat, eyes locked to his phone. Ignis answered him in the affirmative, stating that after the wedding Noctis and Lunafreya were to tour around Tenebrae briefly as a symbol of the peace between nations under the flag of Nifleheim. The Prince pulled his phone out of his pocket when he felt it buzz, and furrowed his brow as his father's name appeared with an unread message icon. He thumbed the screen and opened the message,

 _Son. I know what I have asked of you in this marriage was a lot. I am more proud of you than I can say. Good luck. I wish I could be there to see it._

He sighed, slouching deeper into his chair and crammed his phone back into his pocket. He rested an arm on the railing, looking out across the sea, curious if Altissia looked as beautiful as he was told.

"Dude, it's your turn." Noctis was pulled from his thoughts by Prompto,

"Huh? Oh." He pulled his phone from his pocket and thumbed the game open, half-heartedly playing against his friend. By the time the ferry began to pull away from the Lucian coast with a loud bellow of its horn Noctis was losing horribly while Prompto complained about him not even trying. Not in the mood to argue he simply asked for a rematch, assuring him he would pay closer attention as Galdin Quay began to vanish into the distance. The second round of the game was going smoother, Noctis winning by a margin when Ignis announced he could see the first signs of the Accordian coast.

"You're being awful quiet, even for you." Ignis remarked, moving to sit next to Noctis after Prompto had moved on to challenging Gladiolus to a round of the mobile game.

"Just tired," he offered as an excuse. "Gladio dragged me out of bed at the crack of dawn to jog."

"Hmm… he sure wanted to make sure none of us forgot that disastrous hunt. Was far from our most shining moment." Noctis hummed his agreement, and leaned against his fist as he watched details begin to emerge as the city of Altissia slowly came into view. "Noct." He turned his head to meet Ignis's impatient look.

"Sorry Ig, what?"

"Not important…" he sighed; realizing Noctis would not be the best conversationalist at this point. "I can almost see the waterfalls." He changed subjects, looking at the growing view of the city. He let his friend sit beside him in silence as the city approached, and it was Prompto who was the first to remark on it.

"Wow! Look at that!" he pointed, leaning over the railing and pulling his camera out, shutter clicking madly as he took pictures. "How can Tenebrae beat _this_?" he asked, smirking at Noctis, his thumb gesturing at the approaching coast.

"Just wait until you see Tenebrae!" he answered back with a smile of his own. He had to admit he was excited to bring his friends to the country. He sat taller in his chair, stretching his limbs and feeling his back crack in a couple places. His left leg was beginning to grow numb, a dull ache forming in his lower back motivating him to stand, resting against the railing beside Prompto. Ignis was reading aloud from a pamphlet in his hand, it sounded like something about the history of constructing the water-bridge that the ferry would take to the docks, but Noctis always found himself unable to pay attention to such subjects. _As future King, you need to know your history._ He could hear Ignis's voice in his mind chiding him for not paying attention to his history lessons.

"I dunno man, hard to beat this." Prompto answered, talking over Ignis who halted his reading, glaring at his friends. "Sorry… keep reading specs." Ignis sighed and made a dismissive gesture, reading the rest of the pamphlet to himself. "I mean _look_ at this place! How do they manage this?" he went back to clicking his camera, Noctis feeling his heart begin to race as the dock came into view.

Lunafreya clicked the buckle on her luggage shut, her palm resting on the top of it for several seconds. She glanced up at her bed where Pyrna slept, Umbra having been sent ahead with her latest message for Noctis, likely to reach him only hours before they were to reunite.

 _I can't wait to not wait to see you anymore_

She smiled at the thought before placing the book she was reading atop her luggage, though she doubted her focus for the story with the other thoughts vying for her attention. Pyrna yipped, causing her to look up.

"You excited for Alitissia as well?" she inquired, smiling when the white dog barked again. "I haven't left Tenebrae in many a year." She remarked. Save for her tours into the local towns, her world was a very small bubble. Her only views of a world outside the Manor were the postcards Noctis would place inside their notebook, or the rare broadcasts she was allowed to watch. "And we shall finally see Lucis." She sighed, allowing a small smile at the thought of the places she would see. Noctis would often tell her of the places he wanted to bring her. Either during his painfully brief visits or in the words he bequeathed her in their notebook. Favorite fishing spots, restaurants, his favorite beach, a place to ride and race chocobos. A knock on her door jarred her, and she tried to control her racing heart as she approached the door, not trusting in her voice to call out that she would be but a moment. She had one hand resting protectively over her ribs before forcing her arm down to her side and reached for the door to pull it open.

"Good morning my Lady Lunafreya." Caligo's smooth voice greeted her, walking past her into the room. "Are we ready to depart?" he glanced at his wrist, "It is oh-eight-hundred- hours, I had told you to be ready by this time."

"All ready." She replied simply, and walked up to her bed, picking up her luggage with one hand, her book with the other. She felt a tug on her arm as her luggage was pulled away from her, and she let go of it hesitantly, and her arm found itself guarding her ribs, Caligo standing on her injured side. Heat rose in her cheeks, her throat felt tight, her pulse throbbing in her ears.

"Please my Lady, allow me." He insisted. She looked up at him, her muscles tense, tightening the arm wound about her chest. "The airship awaits. As you know Aldercapt and Verstael are not patient men." She nodded at him, a wave of nausea rolling through her stomach at the name _Verstael_. She failed to suppress the dark images that rose to her mind at the name. "Once we drop you in Altissia they will be going to Insomnia to sign the peace treaty. A pity they cannot see the wedding, I have heard just how lovely the dress is." He remarked. The aforementioned garment had been brought to the airship the previous night, along with her shoes, the involved documents, and the ring she was to give to Noctis. "Nervous?" he inquired after they got through the doorway and into the hall. Pyrna was following Lunafreya closely, her tail tucked between her legs.

"As any bride-to-be would be."

"Quite the handsome man to be betrothed to." She lifted a brow as she walked a couple paces behind him, gripping her book tighter.

"Indeed he is." She answered.

"A childhood friend, the Crippled Prince." She bristled at the words, but refused to take his bait.

"Shall we go now?" The rest of the walk was spend in tense silence, the sound of their shoes clicking against the floor of the Manor and the grinding of Caligo's armor the only sounds to keep them company. Lunafreya held her head up, but refused to meet the eye of any soldiers they passed, and she couldn't help the thought of wondering which were human, which were clones, and which were mechanical creations. Pyrna remained close to her side, and once they were outside the small dog dashed ahead,

"Pyrna!" Lunafreya called, but halted when she saw the reason for the dog running the way she did. "Ravus?" her eyes met the form of her brother, standing tall in his white uniform. The dog sat at his feet, tail wagging wildly as the man bent down to scratch behind her ears, mumbling something that she wasn't able to hear from her current distance.

"Yes, Ravus is to escort you to Altissia, I have business to attend to an cannot waste my time babysitting." He answered her. She allowed him to get several more steps ahead of her before she resumed her walk. Keeping herself further than arm's reach after catching up, watching him carefully as he dropped her duffel to the ground.

"Brigadier General Uldor."

"Commander Fleuret."

"Are we ready taking off shortly now?" the taller man asked in a brusque voice. His shoulders were squared, fingers tensed as he stared down the brunet man who's eyes were locked with his own.

"Yes. So do see to keep my Lady Lunafreya entertained now Ravus. Nervous about her upcoming nuptials. Only polite to help her feel more relaxed before we bring her to Altissia." He turned from Ravus, and Lunafreya could see the tension in his posture now that Caligo's attention had shifted. "It is a short journey my dear, do try to relax and enjoy it." She flinched as he reached out to pat her shoulder, and walked into the airship. Her cheeks flushed at how strongly she reacted to the harmless gesture, releasing a breath she was hardly aware she was holding. Her heart was again throbbing in her ears, but the sound began to fade when the next hand on her shoulder was Ravus's far gentler grip.

"Good morning," she greeted him, managing a smile. She felt Pyrna brush up against her leg, drawing her gaze away from her brother's piercing stare.

"He hurt you again." He stated. She kept her gaze on the dog, bending down to pick her up so she had reason to avoid his eyes.

"It matters not." She answered. "Come, we should go in before they take off with us standing on the ramp clinging for our lives." She heard him sigh but he turned and walked up the ramp, her following close behind. Caligo had vanished behind a set of doors leading to one of the aft cabins, leaving the siblings alone as they made their way into a small room on the port side of the ship. The room was sparse but was comfortable enough for the journey to Accordio. It sported two small beds, a table, and two chairs. Once the door was shut the unmistakable sound of grinding drew near as an MT was stationed outside the door. "I guess they don't trust you alone to keep me… entertained."

"You are truly going through with this?" he asked, his voice retaining his previous anger as he took a seat. Her ribs still tender Lunafreya decided to recline on one of the beds, Pyrna leaping up and lying beside her leg. The dog whined a little as she settled, and she suspected that it was because of Umbra's absence.

"If this is the price of peace I'm more than willing to pay it." she answered him.

"That boy is not worthy of you." The vitriol in his tone nearly frightened her, and she shifted in the bed, trying to find a comfortable way to lie that put the least pressure on her side. One hand found its way into Pyrna's fur, absentmindedly petting the dog. _Would you rather I be wed to Loqi, or Uldor, or some other psychopathic entity from Nifleheim?_

"His worthiness has naught to do with this. This was the price the Empire laid out to bring peace to Eos. Would you rather continue war?" she inquired.

"You deserve better!" he snapped. "Not to be, pawned off like some possession to that… _boy_." Ravus saw the way his sister flinched at his tone, and he forced himself to relax, taking several deep breaths as she let the tense silence hang between them. "You deserve to be happy Lunafreya." He admonished.

"I can find that happiness with Noctis." She answered him. "We will never see eye to eye on this. Please. This is my choice. This was what the empire offered in exchange for peace. I took it. I'm doing my part for _peace_. Set your feelings for Lucis aside." She pleaded, her gaze finally meeting his. He pursed his lips, darting his eyes away from hers.

"And what did Uldor do to you this time?" he changed subjects to his other concern. He was no fool. He saw her slow deliberate movements.

"I'm alright Ravus. Honestly." Her brother sighed; realizing arguing with her during the flight was going to prove fruitless. He shoved a hand into his pocket, finding a small medication bottle and rattling it to gather her attention, and tossed it to her when she looked his way again. She caught it, flipping the lid off, and swallowed two of the pills inside. Ravus had come into habit of carrying the pain killers in his pocket, and she had come into the habit to stop arguing with him when he offered them.

"The gods give you mother's curse, but don't allow you to benefit yourself from it." he sighed.

"It's not a curse Ravus. I _help_ people. I keep the blight tempered-"

"Tempered?!" his previous anger returned, standing up and knocking his chair over, gazing down into Lunafreya's wide eyes. "The blight has all but wiped Nifleheim off the map! Every time you heal people twice as many show up the next time! The days are getting shorter, the nights longer. Last winter I thought would never end! All this _curse_ does it sap you of your strength. Why should you give your life like this?"

"It is _my_ life!" she snapped, brow furrowed. "I will perform my duty as oracle! Gentiana came to me last night, and it is time for me to awaken the Six." She told him in a whisper, trying to control her own rising anger. "Noctis and I-"

"That boy _cannot_ help you! He will lead you to your doom!" She sat up, a hand clutching at her side, failing to control the pained groan that escaped her throat as she stood, walking towards her brother.

"The Oracle and-"

"The Crystal's Chosen, yes enough you've recited it to me a thousand times."

"Would you rather I resign myself to Nifleheim's control for the remainder of my days? To sit back and watch as the blight overtakes our world, the Starscourge saps it of all it's light?" She asked, tears burning her eyes.

"I'd rather see you _happy_. To live your life as you choose."

"I _am_ choosing this!"

"It chose _you_! Accepting a burden is not the same as _choosing_ it!" he saw the look in her eye and took another deep breath, releasing his balled fists and carefully placing his hands on her shoulders, trying not to let her slight flinch break his heart. "I want you to have the life you dream of." he knew all she wanted was to be with that bastard Lucian Prince, and live out her life in carefree bliss. _Why him? Why did it have to be him?_ He thought bitterly.

"You say that, but you want me to live the life _you_ want for me." She countered, her tone far softer than her words. "I cannot change the fact I'm the Oracle. And if you approve or not, I still love Noctis."

"He's not worthy of your… _love_!"

"You don't get to decide that." All the talking was making the pain in her ribs flare up, and she lied back down on the bed with Pyrna. "I need your help." She implored after several minutes of tense silence. "As I told you, Gentiana came to me; it's time to awaken the Six. Gentiana believes that the wedding is a trap," she paused to hold up her hand in a _stop_ gesture, not wanting to resume their argument. "I need help getting away from Altissia. The Empire will have soldiers breathing down my neck the entire time we're there. You're the only one who can help me get away from them."

"You want me to help you run off with that _boy_ to-"

"Ravus, please." She implored. "I wish not to argue further on his merits. He is not why I'm asking for your help. Whether you like it or not I _am_ the Oracle, I must awaken the Six. I will do this with or without your help, but with it I shall be safer."

"Trusting _me_ to spirit you away rather than your _Prince_ " The venom was thick in his tone.

"You are the Commander of the army! Do not pretend you don't have resources Noctis does not. I already told you, I do not wish to discuss his merits with you further." Ravus sighed, battling a war with himself. He wanted to go over to her and shake some sense into her until she gave up on these notions of running off with that bastard prince, this foolish quest to awaken the Six. Silence hung between them, and it was Ravus who broke it first, knowing it was impossible to outmatch his sister's stubbornness. He agreed to help her, but warned her that once she was gone from Altissia his ability to continue to protect her would be limited. They spent the remainder of the flight trying to formulate a plan of escape. He still felt unsure, and desired to talk her out of this nonsense. Once again a thick silence settled over them, Lunafreya's posture beginning to relax as the medication she took began to take hold, easing her pain.

"Where's Umbra?" Ravus inquired, having noticed the black dog's absence. He was unable to tolerate the silence punctuating their previous fight, wanting nothing more than to soothe the tension between them.

"You know how he is, vanishes on me for days at a time. Gentiana promised to look after him for me should he return while I'm gone." She explained. Ravus appeared to accept her explanation as he righted the overturned chair and sat back down in it. The airship was surprisingly smooth, having reached cruising altitude without alerting the siblings that any motion had taken place. Lunafreya rarely had the chance to travel, sitting up on the bed so she could look out the window. "The view from up here…" she remarked. Ravus stood up to look out the window with her, envying her fascination. He flew with the Empire so frequently flying had lost its wonder. He was grateful for this small joy she could experience.

"I suppose I've forgotten how… exciting it can be." He remarked, finding his anger starting to subside when he saw the smile gracing Lunafreya's face. He wished for more moments like this for her. Not their mother's burden. He was her big brother; _I should be the one trying to make the world a better place for her._ Her anger forgotten she asked him if he had been to Altissia before, to which he answered the affirmative. He had gotten to see much of Tenebrae and Accordio. He sometimes forgot how trapped she was, seeing little of the world outside the Manor. He tried his best to describe the city to her, but pretty words were never his forte. "You'll see it with your own eyes soon." He finally told her, as he realized his words were doing the beauty of the city no justice. She hummed in response, and her posture began to relax. Whether it was from the pain killers he gave her, or her loosened mood he could not tell. But either way, he longed for more of those smiles.

Lunafreya spent much of the flight gazing out the window, and her face lit up as they approached the city. It truly lived up to its namesake of the Floating City. It appeared to be constructed around the water itself. She could make out the canals carving their way around, a larger river way leading away from the city and into the sea that separated the continents. The blues reminded her of the sylleblossums fields, allowing her to feel a flicker of hope. The airship began to descend into a small airstrip in the southern edge of the city, the young woman scratching Pyrna's ears again as she tried to contain her rising excitement at her pending reunion with Noctis. Ravus restrained himself from befouling his sister's mood with further remarks, not wanting to see her smile vanish. But her face fell nonetheless when there was a knock on the door before Caligo Uldor opened it to announce it was time to disembark. The Fleuret siblings walked past the man, Caligo grasping Lunafreya's arm as she passed,

"I do give you my sincerest apologies my Lady Lunafreya, but I will not be back in time for your wedding. But fear not, we shall return after the treaty signings to assist you and the Prince to Tenebrae after the ceremonies."

"I hear Insomnia is quite the sight to behold. Do enjoy your time there." She answered, and felt his fingertips dig into her arm for a moment. She heard Ravus take several steps closer, prompting the brunet to release her. "Try not to kill your new brother-in-law Ravus." Said man slid an arm around his sister's shoulders to guide her away from Caligo, and together they walked down the ramp and into the bright daylight of Altissia.

"You'd think you would learn to watch your tongue around him." Ravus whispered to her as they stood together with the Empirical soldiers to watch the airship depart.

"I merely wished him a pleasant trip."

"Even I didn't miss your tone."

"We best set off for the hotel and get ourselves settled." She answered back, and Ravus knew probing the subject further was a lost cause. He agreed with her plan, and led the way when she asked him where it was. She took in the city around her as they walked, her former fascinated mood returning now that Caligo was gone from her sight. The city smelled of salt and food, from the sea that fed the rivers and the various restaurants with open designs. Music sounded as if it was being played from everywhere. Chatter of people, calls of shopkeepers, accents and languages both local and foreign. The buildings had a unique architecture and she longed for a book on the history of this city that she could lose herself in. She continued to admire her surroundings, wishing she could simply explore Altissia during their walk to the hotel.

The lobby was cool compared to the summer air. The climate of Accordio was warmer than Tenebrae due to the distance from the mountains, but the nearby sea provided a pleasant breeze. Nonetheless, it felt nice to get out of the heat. She heard the murmur of voices as they entered. Whether it was a reaction to the Oracle, or the imposing figure of her brother, she was unsure. But her eyes were immediately drawn to the excited form of Umbra running at her, leaping at her knees. She smiled and bent down, ruffling his ears.

"Good to see you boy." She stood and looked at her brother, remarking that she needed to use the restroom, a member of hotel staff telling her where the nearest bathroom was. She heard the sound of someone following, but her brother's voice rang out,

"It's impolite to follow a lady to the bathroom. I don't think the Oracle will be digging any tunnels." He drolled, and she could almost hear him rolling her eyes. She walked down the short hallway tailed by Umbra, calling to her brother she supposed that the dog just missed her. Once in the privacy of the bathroom she locked herself in a stall and pulled out the notebook from Umbra's scarf, quickly flipping the pages and excited to find that Noctis had somehow found the time to read her message, and leave a new one. How Umbra had made the journey so quickly perplexed her, but she learned long ago to stop pondering the curiosity.

 _This will be the longest 12 hours of my life._

She smiled at the words, running her fingers over the dried ink, fighting back the tears stinging her eyes. _Just a few more hours._ She thought. She tucked the notebook back into the scarf, reassuring Umbra she would tend to the notebook again later. She made use of the facilities and returned to the lobby, not surprised that a soldier was waiting for her two meters from the restroom door. Upon returning to the hotel's lobby Umbra and Pyrna ran to each other, yipping and sniffing each other, rubbing up against each other, before walking circles around the legs of their mistress. Ravus led them to where their rooms were, Ravus gesturing to a room that was flanked by his on one side, and a room shared by two of the soldiers on the other. The three rooms across the hall would service the rest of the soldiers in their party, and Lunafreya couldn't help the feeling of claustrophobia at how surrounded she was, even here. She unpacked her things while she waited to be summoned. They were scheduled to meet the Lucian retinue at the mansion of Camelia Claustra, first secretary of Accordio.

Lunafreya failed to control her jolt at the sudden pounding at her door, placing a hand over her chest. She shouted her brother's name, inviting him in, knowing he was the source of the jarring sound. No one else knocked on her door so aggressively. A habit he'd developed in childhood and never outgrew. Once inside he apologized when he saw the effects of her startle, and invited her to join him for the walk to the mansion. She relaxed at how he invited her for this walk rather than demand it, despite the fact she had no choice in the matter. She felt herself begin to calm, though her heart continued its rapid rate at knowing her Prince was but a walk through the city away. They were flanked by most of the soldiers who had departed the airship with them, two staying behind to guard their rooms, Pyrna and Umbra left behind to guard her own.

They entered the receiving room after walking through a narrow hallway that led away from the front entrance. The building resembled one that could be mistaken for the architecture or Tenebrae. Colored in mostly white, greys, and blues. Tapestries lined the walls, as well as framed plaques bearing historical facts, or artifacts contained behind glass. The blue carpeting beneath their feet quieted the sounds of their footsteps. Lunafreya felt her heart rate increase again when the doors before them were opened. Inside first secretary Camelia Claustra sat at a table flanked by Accordian dignitaries. To her left sat the Lucian retinue, to her right a series of empty chairs. Noctis was sitting at the end of the table closest to the woman, and their eyes met. He stood from his chair, his action mirrored by the others in their party as the Fleuret party was welcomed.

"Ravus and Lunafreya Fleuret, I welcome you to Accordio." The first secretary greeted them as they approached the foot of the long table. Her voice was sharp, and Lunafreya sensed an edge in her tone that put her ill at ease.

"First Secretary." Ravus answered, bowing gently, Lunafreya matching his motion from his right side. She stood, eyes locking again with her beloved Prince, a small smile playing her features as she saw the one lighting his face. He moved from his seat, and approached. His own heart was racing in his chest, a tightness in his throat. He longed to pull her into his arms, but forced himself to follow decorum, bowing his head to Ravus first, straining to hold back the surge of animosity threatening to taint his words,

"Ravus Fleuret."

"Noctis Caelum." Both men stood stiff, eyes locked together challenging each other for dominance. Noctis turned to the one to whom he truly wanted to give his attention, and immediately felt all tension in his body vanish as he gazed upon her.

"Luna," he smiled,

"Noct." She answered. "It's wonderful to see you again." She threw her arms around him, her fingers gripping the fabric of his jacket, trying to restrain the sob she felt rising in her throat, closing her eyes tight to soothe their burning. He held her with equal strength, she winced at his embrace when she felt a sharp pain in her ribs, and was grateful for the medication Ravus gave her on the airship. She felt Noctis hesitate for a moment, but he returned the embrace when she tightened her own, a palm against her lower back, the other around her shoulders, fingers curling to grasp the fabric of her dress. She felt his nose on the crook of her neck, sending a shiver through her. They held each other for several moments longer than decorum would dictate, but forced themselves to part.

"It's wonderful to see you too." He answered her, forcing himself to drop the hands he had left lingering on her shoulders. She felt cold without his arms around her any longer, and longed to be away from this office so they could walk through the streets of Altissia together and talk. Even the thought of her perpetual guard failed to dampen her spirits. Noctis returned to his seat, Lunafreya taking hers across from him, Ravus to her left, and the rest of the soldiers taking eats opposite the rest of the Lucian party, the younger Fleuret couldn't help but notice the way they all stiffened, keeping wary gazes on the Nifleheim soldiers. A man stood behind Camelia's right shoulder, arms held behind his back.

"Shall we get started?"

* * *

I know this was a bit of a tease, I promise you a proper Luna/Noctis reunion in the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed this alternate version of how the Dino interaction would go, I certainly had a lot of fun writing it so I hope it was fun to read! The nerve of that guy trying to blackmail the Prince on the way to his wedding. Made for a questchain in a game, but seems silly when you really think of it.


	4. Together Again

Posting a day early! We have some proper Lunoct here to make up for the teaser in the previous chapter. It's a bit long... but I couldn't find a place to cut it without cutting out some of the Lunoct stuff. I hope you find this chapter enjoyable!

 **aqir:** I hope you enjoy this update!

 **KingPlotBunny:** Oh goodness the Dino quests annoyed me, mostly because of their premise. Blackmailing Noct? Seriously? I'm glad you enjoyed the way I subverted that questchain for the story :) We have a proper Lunoct reunion here I hope you enjoy it. And you'll just have to read and see where I take Ravus in this story!

* * *

Camelia opened a folder that was sitting in front of her, as well as several pens. She introduced everyone at the table, although it was hardly necessary. Everyone nodded to each other with sharp motions, everyone sitting tall, hands fisted tightly resting atop the table's surface. They exchanged forced pleasantries; each answering _it went well_ when asked about their trip to Accordio from their respective countries. It was Ravus's impatience that finally forced the group to set to the task at hand. While the ceremony was not for another week, the betrothed royals were asked to review the marriage certificate, both agreeing that their respective names were spelled correctly. Per tradition the Tenebraean princess was to forego her family's name, and adapt that of the line of Lucis. _Lunafreya Nox Caelum._ She rolled the name through her mind, and found it difficult to force back the small smile creeping into her face, and the hardly discernable pink stain to Noctis's cheeks brought one to her own. The drafted agreement also stated that while she would bear the Lucian crest on the left breast of her royal garb, she was also to bear the banner of Nifleheim on her right sleeve. The rings the couple brought were surrendered to First Secretary, to be returned to them during the ceremony. Watching Ravus hand over the small box containing the braided silver ring she bore for Noctis weighed heavily on her heart as Gentiana's words began to resurface in her thoughts. They went through other details of the arrangement, including living arrangements. Lunafreya was to return to Tenebrae for six months of the year to heal her people, the documenting not specifying the Lucian Prince's role, leaving it open for him to decide year by year.

"Of course I'll come with you. It would probably make the people of Tenebrae happy to see the Oracle's husband taking interest in her people." He provided with a reassuring smile, drawing one from her. She felt her brother bristle beside her, and pushed on his foot with her own until she felt his posture release, an irritated sigh escaping his nose.

"I'd like that," she finally answered. He smiled wider at her answer, bringing a heat to her own cheeks. They continued to review details of the document before declaring they had gone over the various details.

Lunafreya watched as Ravus picked up the pen that was handed to him, Noctis mirroring his actions. Both men held the object with such tension the tendons in their hands were visible. They signed the document with more pressure than was necessary. Once they had both signed, the form was given back to Camelia who placed it inside a manilla folder which she passed off to the man standing behind her right shoulder, said man disappearing through a door several meters away. She declared the meeting completed, with both parties due to meet once more the night before the wedding, and again the morning of. Noctis nearly overturned his chair in his haste to stand, quickly walking in a near-jog to Lunafreya's side, extending a hand to help her stand.

"What do you say I treat you to lunch?" he asked her, "we can walk there. I feel a little stiff after sitting so long."

"That sounds lovely." She answered with a smile, squeezing the hand that was holding her own. Her smile dropped and she looked up as three unfamiliar faces approached her, and from the periphery of her vision could see Ravus and their soldier escorts walking up to her.

"Sister, we should return to the hotel." Ravus stated, standing tall beside her,

"I'm rather hungry and Noctis has invited me to lunch." She answered him. He looked about to rebuke, exhaling through his nose.

"Fine," he turned to the approaching soldiers who were standing to close for comfort. "She will be safe with the Lucian retinue." He insisted. He lacked the confidence of his words, but knew his sister would not want to be tailed by these men. "Will she not, Noctis _Caelum_ " the vitriol in his tone caused his sister to turn her head sharply at him, furrowing her brow. He heard her sigh deeply, posture tensing beside him. He hand was still tightly clamped in the Prince's, knuckles flushed white from the tension in her grip.

"I'll keep her safe." Noctis answered back, squaring his shoulders, locking his aching knees to appear just a bit taller. The men stared at each other for several seconds before Ravus turned sharply, gesturing for the soldiers to follow him. She was grateful for her brother's gesture, knowing he entrusted her to the Prince's custody reluctantly. Once alone in the room she threw her arms around him once more, her desperate need for his contact had not been satisfied by their brief embrace earlier. Her eyes burned once more and she closed them tight, swallowing hard to keep the sob in her throat. She felt his arms wrap around her, this time wary of where he placed his hands, his limbs tense, fingers curling around the fabric of her dress once more. "Luna…" he whispered against her skin. "Gods I missed you."

"I missed you too." She answered him. He nuzzled her neck, sending a shiver through her, to which he responded by holding her tighter. She winced slightly, but gripped his jacket tighter so he wouldn't let go of her just yet. "We won't have to miss each other anymore." she remembered Gentiana's words again, wondering how to tell him. How could she break this joy that was enveloping them? How was she supposed to drop this burden on him. He came here for a wedding, not to face the Astrals. She felt him begin to release his embrace, and she settled back on her feet, her palms resting on his chest. He smiled at her for the barest moment before she felt the warmth of his hands on her cheeks, and closed her eyes when he leaned towards her. Their lips brushed in a simple kiss, the tension in their forms betraying how much they longed for so much more.

"Guess you couldn't wait for the wedding, huh buddy?" The couple broke their kiss, sporting matching crimson cheeks and ears. Lunafreya stepped back out of his embrace and dodged the eyes of the blond man who had made the off-color comment.

"This," Noctis sighed, "Is Prompto. The big guy over there is Gladiolus, but call him Gladio. Specs here is Ignis." She managed a smile at them, nodding her head slightly, Recalling their names. Noctis had mentioned them before in their notebook. His friend, his Shield, and his Hand and advisor.

"Pleasure to meet you."

"Honor to meet you Lady Lunafreya." Prompto stammered, bowing at her which caught her off-guard.

"Please don't" she asked. "And call me Luna. Prompto… you're the one who helped my dog Pyrna several years go." She recalled. "Lovely to finally meet you." She held out her hand, and he gripped it shaking it with a bit more energy than she expected.

"So Pyrna is her real name?" he asked, "I called her Tiny. How is she?"

"Quite well." She smiled at him, glad to have a common ground to try and connect to someone with.

"It's an honor to meet you Lady Lunafreya." The man introduced as Ignis approached next, his handshake far more gentle as she asked again to simply be called Luna. The larger man approached her, and she flinched slightly when he reached his hand out to her, his grip on her hand tight as he greeted her. Much to her relief he didn't seem to notice her flinch, though she saw Noctis tense beside her.

"Noct's a lucky a guy!" he laughed, and she seized up when he reached to pat her shoulder. "Whoa, didn't mean to scare you little lady. Though these guns here could scare a behemoth!" he boasted, flexing his bicep. She managed a light smile at his comment.

"It's nice to finally meet you all. Noct has told me much about you."

"I think Noct mentioned lunch, I'm starved!" Prompto declared, and Lunafreya grasped at the chance to leave into the city.

"I haven't eaten since leaving Tenebrae. Lunch sounds like a great idea." She echoed his sentiment; the rest of the retinue voiced their agreement. The three men walked ahead, Noctis lagging behind to grasp her hand, guiding her forward with a gently tug.

"I know Gladio looks like a garula, but he's harmless I promise," he smiled at her. "He's my sworn Shield. Which means he'll be your sworn Shield while you're here he'd protect you with his life." She tried to settle and trust in Noctis, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Just startled me a little." She offered. "Are we going anywhere in particular?"

"Well seafood is your favorite, and I can never get enough fish, and I hear the bass in Altissia are the best around." She smiled up at him and began to feel genuinely relaxed.

"Speaking of fish. Have you had the chance to go fishing yet?"

"Not yet. Been pretty busy since we got here. I was hoping to go tonight, and that you'd come with me?" he asked.

"I'd love to, though we best at least stop at the hotel to inform Ravus. Last thing I want is for him to expect me back after lunch then come looking for me when I don't immediately return." She felt the grip on her hand tighten, and she could see Noctis clench his jaw for a moment, which brought a furrow to her brow. "I know you don't like my brother-"

"I don't like people _controlling_ you like that. So what if you go out for lunch then stay out late to go fishing with me. Why do you need your brother's permission to do that? Or _anyone's_ permission?" she knew the question wasn't directed at her, and let the subject drop. "Soon though… you can do whatever you want." He tried to grasp at something more hopeful, but was surprised at how she averted her gaze when he brought it up. "You know I won't order you around like the Nifs…"

"I know you won't Noct." She forced a smile. "When I'm with you… it's the most free I ever feel." She didn't intend to make him think she was questioning him, and felt her stomach knot up. "Perhaps you can steal into my room tonight?" she whispered. "I always feel safest the nights you're with me." This earned her a smile, which she returned, her heart beginning to flutter at the look he was giving her.

"The Princess feels safer when the tall dark handsome Prince breaks into her room at night."

"Will he rescue his Princess with true love's kiss?" she asked,

"She'll have to wait and see." He answered back, and she gave him a half-hearted glare.

"Teasing now are we? You think I can wait that long?" she inquired

"It'll be worth the wait." The gaze he gave her left her face hot, and she gripped his hand tighter,

"It better be."

"You two planning on joining the rest of us, or what?" Gladiolus shouted as the royal pair had fallen behind the rest of their retinue. They jogged lightly to catch up, apologizing, sporting matching blushes. As they walked to the seafood restaurant Noctis told Lunafreya about the reporter who attempted to blackmail him, and how poorly that went for said man. She laughed at the thought of someone being so bold, and asked if there were any other incidents during their trip.

"Not really." Noctis shrugged, and Gladiolus grunted his disapproval,

"Did you forget about the sabertusks?" he asked,

"What sabertusks?" Lunafreya asked, looking up at Noctis who was dodging her gaze to glare at his Shield.

"Oh man Gladio… why'd you bring that one up?" Prompto asked.

"Sorry, what'd you say Prom? Can't hear you, I'm a little _deaf in one ear_." Noctis teased, twirling his pinky in his ear.

"These three failures got their butts kicked by a pack of sabertusks." Gladiolus answered Lunafreya's previous question, all three of his friend shouting their protests that _all four_ of them failed. The young woman smiled at the banter as they told her about their failed first quest, and the subsequent torture the Shield put the through as punishment. They arrived at the restaurant and were seated at a round corner table that was large enough for the group of five, the royal retinue appreciative of the relative privacy of the corner. Drink orders were taken, Lunafreya and Ignis requesting tea, Gladiolus beer, the other two enjoying a sugar-laden soda.

"So Luna, how big did… Pyrna? End up being?" Prompto asked, trying to lure the quiet woman into conversation. She had been quietly observing the banter of the friends.

"Oh. Not very large. 10 kilograms or so." She answered. "Her leg recovered quite well too, you would never know she was hurt. Thank you again for taking such good care of her."

"She here in Altissia with you, or did you leave her behind in Tenebrae?"

"She's at the hotel." Prompto's excited smile was infectious, and she felt some of the tension in her shoulders relax. "When we go back you should say hello to her."

"I'd love that!"

"You guys never told me you knew each other." Noctis cut in curiously, smiling at her so she he wouldn't imply jealous. He had intended to ask earlier when Pyrna was first mentioned, but the conversation had changed so rapidly he forgot. It was Prompto who answered his inquiry, regaling the story of finding the injured puppy and how he nursed her back to health and the letter of thanks he eventually received.

"I'm glad you two are still such good friends." She added once he finished his story.

"Oh… we weren't friends yet back then. But your letter encouraged me to try." He fell back into the role of storyteller, regaling Luna with his determination to lose weight so he could feel confident enough to try and befriend Noctis, the Prince insisting that he would have been friends with him regardless of his weight if he had just talked to him.

"You talked to me like a _person_ instead of The Prince." He commented. "That's all I really needed."

"And you repay Noct's friendship by blowing his eardrum." Gladiolus tisked, shaking his head as he swigged back the beer he had ordered.

"Oh come _on_ didn't you make me pay enough for that yet?"

"Nope" Noctis and Gladiolus answered together.

"I'm never living that down…"

"Never." Gladiolus grinned. Lunafreya smiled at how the amicable teasing, happy that Noctis had such comradery. But she couldn't help the small twinge of jealousy she felt.

"Excited for the wedding?" Prompto asked, turning back to the Oracle, trying to get the subject off of him. She flushed at the question, and tried not to flinch. She hesitated for moment, wondering if Noctis's friends knew how close they were. "Or nervous?" his addition to the question provided her with a cop-out, and she grasped at it.

"Bit of both." She answered in earnest. She avoided his gaze hoping in vain no one would see how hot her cheeks were growing.

"I can't tell who looks more like a Lucian tomato!" _Gladiolus_ chuckled, "Guess Noct is a little worried about _night after_ " Noctis suddenly began coughing on the soda he was chugging, his counterpart dodging everyone's gaze as her eyes fixed on her tea, thumbs running long the rim.

"Gladio! Impolite to discuss such matters." Ignis chided, "I apologize for our boorish friend Lady Lunafreya." The continued, noting how uncomfortable she looked. "Pay him no mind. Feel free to slap him if need be."

"Trust me, take him up on that offer." Noctis responded, reaching across the table to swing at Gladiolus, the man leaning back sharply to dodge the blow.

"How's your father?" Lunafreya asked, trying to change subjects. He sat back from his attempts to box his friend's ears and took a sip of his soda before answering.

"Umm he's okay." He answered, and she winced at his tone, not having intended to bring up any sore subjects. He had so rarely talked about his father in their notebook. "You should have seen the look on his face when I agreed to the wedding." He smiled.

"Yeah lover boy here wouldn't stop smiling for a week!" Prompto laughed; glad to see his comment earned a genuine smile from her. Noctis was blushing even harder than she was, and busying himself drinking his soda so he could pretend he wasn't nearly as embarrassed as he was. He was grateful at that moment for the waitress appeared to take their food orders, giving him a brief reprieve as they all ordered some seafood.

"You were really smiling that much after your father told you about the betrothal?" Lunafreya inquired, cheeks heating up.

"I told you I was in the notebook." He answered her, reaching for her hand under the table to give it a light squeeze, smiling when she returned the gesture.

"I think I'm developing diabetes" Gladiolus complained, turning to Ignis. "You're prepared for everything, you have any insulin on you? I think I'm going into… shock…" he rolled his head back, lolling out his tongue, only righting himself again when he felt Ignis lightly tap his this with a sideways fist,

"Ten units should fix you." He mocked, thumbing an invisible syringe.

"Assholes." Noctis's sudden curse had Prompto and Lunafreya laughing again, the latter smiling at seeing Noctis looking so within his element. It made her happy to know that he had people he could lean on back in Insomnia. Noctis fished an ice cube from his soda, throwing it at Gladiolus, who dodged it at the last moment.

"I just came out of a diabetic coma and you're throwing a sugar-coated ice cube at me? Iggy I think our Prince is trying to kill his Shield. Is this how you fire people?" he asked, feigning offense, giving him a rude hand gesture that Noctis returned, making the rest of the table laugh. Noctis looked at Lunafreya, relieved to see her tension finally begin to ease, but couldn't help but notice the way she was clutching her side as she struggled to reign in her laughter.

"You alright?" he asked, though he didn't expect her to give him a straight answer. She simply smiled and nodded at him. He made a mental note to probe her again later.

"You know, for someone recovering from a diabetic coma I doubt beer is the healthiest choice." Noctis commented when Gladiolus had reordered a beer at the reappearance of their waitress.

"No more saccharine sweetness just oozing off the two of you over there. Seriously. Making me nauseus." Gladiolus quipped back. Conversation shifted to more casual topics. Prompto inquired more about Pyrna, and Ignis probed about Lunafreya's favorite teas. Noctis smiled, glad to see her relaxing and opening up to someone other than himself; hoping his friends would eventually get to know more about her. The food was everything they could have hoped for, and it was no mystery why Altissia was known for its seafood. After their meal was completed the party departed the restaurant and made their way to the hotel as Lunafreya had requested, so she could inform her brother of her intention to go fishing with Noctis.

Lunafreya argued with her brother for nearly ten minutes, and she was exhausted by the time she rejoined Noctis. She wished she could enjoy some time with her brother that didn't involve an argument. Ravus eventually caved in, knowing he was fighting a losing battle. He ordered the soldiers to stand down, begrudgingly trusting in the Lucian Prince to keep her safe; but he couldn't resist threatening to show Noctis how good a prosthetic made by the empire could be. He appeared equally frustrated, explaining that he had argued with his Shield nearly as long to convince him to allow him a little private time with her. She flushed at the thought he too desired a little alone time. She took his outstretched hand, gripping it tight as he gently tugged her towards the end of the hall where the elevators were. The doors closed, and Noctis couldn't hold himself back anymore, pulling her flush against him and bringing his lips down to meet hers.

She let out a surprised yelp, wincing as his arms enveloped her, causing him to release her and pull back from the kiss far too soon, leaving her aching for more but the _ding_ of the elevator reaching the lobby caused them to step away from each other. She mouthed the words _not here_ at the questioning look he was giving her, and forced a smile as she tugged on his hand and they left the hotel.

"Is your room as nice as mine is?" she asked him, and he shrugged.

"I didn't see your room, but I'm going to assume so. They making you share a room with your brother or do you have a nice large bed all to yourself?" he inquired, and she smiled a little at the subtext to his words.

"They figured I would need some alone time to wear off my pre-wedding jitters." She answered, smiling at the way he squeezed her hand. Her smile faded when she saw how tight he held his shoulders, the way he pursed his lips.

"Noct?"

"They hurt you again." He answered her, and she flinched at his words. He had pulled her off towards the railing overlooking the water, allotting them a small bit of privacy. He stood across from her, hands clasped within his own. He wanted to pull her into his arms, feel her warmth against him; to let out six months of denied affection. But the damned Nifs had to steal this one last thing from them before their union; had to deny her this small bit of affection while they could. _A final fuck you._ He thought bitterly.

"Ravus gave me some medicine to help." She answered, knowing denying it was useless. She allowed herself to feel bitter for a moment. He wanted to promise her to keep her safe, free from fear, free from pain. But he didn't know how to reassure her without it sounding like empty platitudes. He reached for her carefully, wrapping his arms around her shoulders tugging lightly, allowing her to set the pace and strength of their embrace. He buried his face into her hair, his sigh sending a shiver through her as it tickled the skin on her neck, her arms wrapped around him and gripped the back of his shirt.

"I'm here to help too now." He finally said. She drew back, placing her hands on his shoulders, reflecting his sad fragile smile.

"I know you are." He reached up and squeezed her hands, and began to guide her further down the road.

"I found a nice fishing spot." He explained as they walked. "It's nice and secluded too, I didn't really see a lot of people walking around it, so no one to scare the fish." She smiled at the excitement in his tone, happy to join in him in a hobby that brought him such joy. She always quite enjoyed sitting on the end of a dock with him, feet dangling in the water. Frequently she had a book with her. They would sometimes talk, other times be content to simply be in each other's presence while she read and he fished. They reached the aforementioned area, and it was indeed quite secluded. It was quieter than the surrounding streets, no street performers were nearby and most of the people were talking down the busier streets. There was no destination in this area behind several buildings other than a nice spot to fish from. Even the gondolas didn't cruise through these waters. She sat at the end of the dock, removing her shoes and placing them behind her so she could dip her feet in the cool water, and felt Noctis sit beside her. Once he cast his line she leaned against him, letting out a sigh of contentment.

"You'll have to show me your favorite fishing spots in Lucis."

"You don't like fishing with me _that_ much," he answered her.

"I can still like seeing new places and just sitting with you." She answered. He turned to her, sporting a matching smile. He reeled in his line and placed it beside him, slipping an arm around her shoulders and tugging her towards him slightly. "Didn't you come here to fish?" she asked, and she felt the shoulder she leaned on shrug,

"There's no rush." He answered her. He reached over with his free hand, tilting her chin up and met her lips in a careful kiss.

"Really _can't_ wait for the wedding, can ya?" A deep voice asked. Lunafreya jerked back from Noctis so suddenly he gripped her shoulders to keep her from falling off the dock. He felt her tremble beneath his palms as he jerked his head towards the source of the voice.

"Gladio?!" He asked, incredulous. His friend laughed, but Noctis jumped to his feet and stormed at his Shield gripping the front of his jacket with both fists, mustering every ounce of willpower he contained not to bury his fist into the man's jaw.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! You promised to let us be alone!" He shouted, shoving the man as hard as he could, nearly knocking himself back with the effort.

"Whoa, calm down Noct,"

"I will _not_ calm down!" he snapped.

"I'm your Shield! I can't just let you run off, you're the godsdamned _Prince of Insomnia_!" Gladiolus bellowed back, fists balled as he reached for the front of Noctis's own jacket, jerking him closer. "I'm supposed to just let you run off?!"

"After you promise me? Yes!"

"Look man, sorry I saw you face-sucking with-"

"Shut up! This isn't just about being embarrassed being caught kissing! I haven't seen her in six months, we just wanted some alone time without someone breathing down our necks!" He thought about the way she flinched when reached for, the slight gasp when he tried to hug her. The way the empire tried to steal the happiness of their reunion from them. To think his own Shield would do the same. "You get back to that hotel before I break your fucking nose!"

"You really think you can take me on skinny?"

"You really think I'm joking around right now?! Get the hell out of my face!"

"Noct, please." A careful voice broke into the argument, and he turned to see a pale-faced Lunafreya standing just out of arm's reach.

"No. It's not fair…" he argued, but shoved Gladiolus's arms away again. He opened his mouth to argue further and clamped it shut again. "Fine. Let's go back to the hotel. Should have known a moment alone was a pipe dream." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to force himself to calm down. He relaxed his balled fists, fingertips tingling as they relaxed. His palms felt itchy and he bit his tongue to gain better control over his tone. "I won't be far behind. Just head back." He ordered Gladiolus, and was surprised to see the man hesitate for only a moment before he began to walk in the direction of the main road. "I'm sorry Luna… I just… I just wanted to give you a moment without someone watching you or…" his eyes flickered to her side.

"Noct… you can't change what the Empire has done."

"But that doesn't mean my own friends have to…" he forced himself to stop, taking another deep breath before looking up to meet her gaze. _All I want is to see you happy_. He took a step closer to her, reaching carefully with a hand to cup her cheek, and felt her lift a hand to brush her fingers against his. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, and they tried to enjoy this solitary moment. He tilted his head, brushing her lips with his for a quick kiss, pulling back only reluctantly with the concern Gladiolus would come back to wonder why they weren't following him. "I promise… I'll make it up to you."

"I'll hold you to that." They managed to exchange fragile smiles and walked hand-in-hand to the road following Gladiolus.

The betrothed royals parted reluctantly and head to their separate rooms, Noctis promising to see her soon enough. She returned the gesture by leaning against his shoulder and whispering her room number into his ear. Noctis and Gladiolus had gotten off the elevator at their designated floor; Lunafreya's rented room the floor above. The Prince followed his Shield and once in the room his voice broke out at nearly the same moment he heard the click of the door shutting.

"Why did you do that Gladio?" Prompto and Ignis were startled at the sudden noise, turning towards Noctis not used to seeing him so angry.

"I'm your _Shield_ it's my _job_ to protect you! I can't just let the Prince of Insomnia run off so he can make kissy-faces at a pretty Princess!"

" _That's_ what you think this was about?!" Noctis admonished, shaking his head and gesturing with his palms. "You think I'm mad because you interrupted a kiss? For the sake of the Six man open your damn eyes!" he resisted the urge to punch the wall to his left, eyes locked firmly with Gladiolus, refusing to be the first one to break eye contact. "Luna has been alone with the empire for _twelve years_. Every damn day of her life is dictated for her. She's told what to wear, where to go, what to do. Even when she goes out to heal people they tell her what towns, for how long. I finally wanted to give her a moment of privacy, let her make a _choice_ for _once_!" it took every ounce of self control he could muster to control the volume of his voice, the effort leaving his throat feeling like he swallowed a pool ball. "You agreed to it, then secretly followed us? You don't think she's spied on enough?"

"I'm supposed to protect you!" Gladiolus shouted back, less concerned about being overheard. "You never would have let me follow you if I just insisted!"

"You just _assumed_ being secretly followed was better? Then make some shitty-ass comment to reveal yourself? You have any idea how bad you scared her?!"

"You told us you were going out to grab yourself another beer." Ignis interrupted their fight, growing tense at the shouting.

"You would have stopped me!" Gladiolus bellowed, "all of you are acting like doing my _job_ was a _bad_ thing!"

"The way you did it was most untoward Gladio." Ignis managed to squeeze in after a series of angry curses from his Prince. "Noct please, go sit and grab yourself a soda from the refrigerator before you break a blood vessel. The Prince looked about to object, but his advisor held up his hand. It was only the fact the man jumped to his defense earlier that prevented him from continuing his angry tirade. "Gladio… the Lady Lunafreya has been treated quite poorly by the empire for many years. Noctis was merely trying to show her a pleasant evening out. Your sneaking to follow them, then apparently interrupting a moment of affection, could only have reminded her of the empire. _Think_ man." He explained.

"Oh come on, like you wouldn't make some cheeky comment if you had to watch these two making out-"

"Damnit Gladio I haven't seen her in six months!" Noctis snapped, his can of soda overflowing as he squeezed the metal in his fist, and began cursing again at the mess he made. "I'm not entitled to a moment with her after all this time? _She's_ not entitled to a shred of friendly human contact in _six fucking months_?! Even her brother is an ass!"

"Well you-"

"Stop this Gladiolus!" Ignis shouted, and the resulting silence in the room hung in the air for several long moments, three wide pairs of eyes staring the man down. "They're entitled to a little alone time. She's been getting abused by the empire for over a decade." Ignis explained. The Shield turned to Noctis,

"You didn't find it necessary to share that with me?"

"Look how you handled me showing her a little attention! How would you have reacted to _that_?!"

"If it was that bad why didn't you _do_ something about it?" he ground out, pointing a finger at him. The Prince winced, soda splashing in the small kitchen as threw the can into the sink, the object bounced and hissed in protest to its assault.

"Don't you think I wanted to?! Don't you think I tried?!" his breathing was quick, his fingers were curled and tense, "The one time I tried you want to know what happened? I went up to the soldier who hit her, who _beat_ her, and punched the guy. I expected him to kick my ass. But you know what he did? He hit _her._ He stormed straight past me, throwing me aside like I was nothing, and beat her so badly I had to carry her back to her room! If I tried _anything_ she would be the one who paid for it!" tears burned his eyes, his throat ached, and his stomach threatened to evacuate. Pain surged in his head and he walked towards the door, roughly shaking away the hand Gladiolus tried to place on his shoulder. "I swear to the _Six_ Gladio better not follow me this time!" he opened the door, slamming it behind him.

He walked down the hall, thumbing the elevator call button repeatedly until it answered its summons. He got on and tried to think about the fact he finally would have the power to keep their hands off her. That he wouldn't have to wait six months just to see her again. He tried to cling to these ideas but found that his thoughts were lost in the guilty memory he shouted at his Shield. The pain felt almost as fresh as it did that day. He swallowed back bile as he exited the elevator and was relieved to find the hallway was empty. He took several seconds to soothe his breathing and carefully walked down the hall, trying not to make any noise as he looked for the door bearing the number _412_. He found it and hoped liked hell he was remembering correctly as he phased through the door. Lunafreya flinched in her seat and stood quickly as he entered but relaxed her tense posture and let out a breath. He felt a moment of guilt at startling her, giving her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I was afraid knocking would draw attention." He offered.

"You just startled me a bit… I don't think I'll ever get used to you sneaking into my room like that." She answered him. He had learned the ability two years prior, and they took full advantage of it to steal some true alone time. After a few seconds she noticed his eyes were red, and he was fidgeting. "Noct?" He approached her quickly, drawing her into an embrace with a palm on her lower back, the other high on her shoulders, fingers gripping the fabric of her dress.

"I should have rescued you from the empire years ago. I should have figured something out… I should have-" She drew back from his embrace just far enough to place her index finger over his lips and gave him a sad smile, shaking her head at him.

"I know you would have done so were it possible. We both know stealing me away from the Empire was impossible. But I don't wish to talk about them right now." She tilted her head to kiss his reply silent. She felt some of the tension in him release, his fingers releasing the fabric of her dress so one hand could cup her cheek, sliding down to touch her neck, this thumb brushing her skin with a touch so light it tickled slightly, causing her to smile into the kiss.

"I'm sorry Gladio-"

"Let's not talk about him either" she silenced him again with a kiss, one hand sliding up the back of his neck to slide through his unruly hair, enjoying the feel of it sliding through her fingers as she gripped it lightly, causing him to moan slightly against her lips. He pulled her closer to him, and she felt the fire in her ribs return and she winced. She felt him begin to loosen his embrace and she tightened her own, trying to tell him he better not take his arms off of her. He kept his hands where they were, but broke the kiss.

"Are you-"

"I'm alright," she answered with a fragile smile. She gasped when he tilted his head to bring his lips down to her neck, starting off with hardly a brush of his lips, her sigh encouraging him to bring his tongue to taste her, gentle nips at her skin causing her breath to hitch. She tilted her head to give him better access, closing her eyes as she languished in the feel. She wound one arm to grip his jacket to hold herself upright, the other continued to fuss with his hair. His breath tickled her skin as his teeth and tongue found that spot just below her earlobe that always made her lose her senses. She whispered his name, and the palm against her lower back pulled her closer to him. His hand left her neck, the other sliding carefully up her back so he could fumble with the clip at the top of her dress, and a shiver coursed through her.

"Mmm… cold? I should do something about that." He mumbled against her skin. She giggled at his words and sighed when he pulled the zipper of her dress down, allowing his other hand to trace the line of her spine, the feel of his hand against her skin driving her mind to impure places. "The bed should be warmer than standing in a drafty room."

"Hmm…" she hummed, trying to think of a response to his flirtatious words. "It is quite cold here…" He slowly slid his hands back up her back, her words trailing off into a quiet moan. His thumbs brushed against the skin of her neck as his fingers curled around the shoulders of her garment, sliding it off of her. His fingers trailed her skin as he guided it off of her. Her fingers released his hair, and began to push his jacket off him, his hands parting with her reluctantly so he could shrug it off. He wanted to admire her pale skin now free of her restrictive clothing, his fingers having found no bra beneath the garment, but she was busy pulling at the hem of his shirt, and he pulled it off in one swift motion. Free of his shirt he lifted her in his arms, and felt her tense as her side rested against him, she saw his brow furrow and a frown wipe away his smile,

"Just focus on this," she whispered, brushing her fingers against his cheek,

"But you're-"

"That doesn't matter" she cut him off. "Now I am a bit cold… you were going to do something about that?" she inquired, grasping at his earlier flirting and hoping it didn't make her sound foolish. He walked her over to the bed and laid her down on it carefully, not wanting to see her flinch again. Once she was laid out before him he moved to climb over her, but stopped when he saw the deep purple-blue mark on her ribs, rimmed with a fading green tone.

"Luna… by the Six I knew you were sore but-"

"Noct please… don't focus on that. I'm alright." She tried to assure him. He closed his eyes tight, lines forming in his brow.

Memories of chasing down a soldier after he saw bruises in the shape of fingerprints on Luna's shoulder flooded his mind. He tried to force the thoughts away, to listen to her words and focus on their reunion and not on the things he couldn't change. _All these years I couldn't protect her. Will I be able to protect her now?_ He questioned himself. "Noct." She whispered again, hands reaching up to cup his cheeks. His eyes opened and she followed the light tug of her hands, forcing his eyes to meet hers. "Don't focus on what you can't change."

"I'm supposed to be the one comforting you." He admitted a little sadly.

"Then comfort me" He hesitated for a moment, and she feared he was going to voice further concerns but instead he leaned over her to bring his lips to hers once more, his hands finding her skin in the ghost of a touch. He was careful not to lean his weight on her, and the tentative brush of his fingers shifted into a desperate search for skin, his hands seeking to know every inch of her, to make up for six months of longing. He mumbled more words of devotion against her neck, the feel of his breath tickling her skin causing her to dig her nails into his back. One hand toyed with her earlobe before ghosting down her neck, tracing the line of her collar bone. His hand slid lower, his fingertips grazing the curve of her breast before cupping it lightly, his thumb brushing lightly over her nipple. He bit down on her neck, his tongue easing the pleasant discomfort. Her sighs grew more desperate, one of her hands tangling in his hair, raking her nails down his back with the other. She sighed again, letting her eyes roll back as his hands drifted from her chest and down her stomach, and she giggled lightly as he tickled the sensitive skin near her hips.

"Ticklish?" he teased, though he knew damn well she was and continued his light touches.

"Noct!" she managed say between giggles, letting go of his hair to push his hand away. He laughed, pulling away just enough to see the smile on her face, bringing one to his own, easing his prior aching at the sight of her. Figuring he had tortured her sensitive skin enough he brought his hand to her inner thigh, his thumbs teasing her for several agonizing moments before answering her breathy whines with the touch she craved, fingers sliding beneath the edge of her undergarments

"Hmm… has the Princess been thinking naughty thoughts of her Prince?" he whispered against her ear as he felt his effects on her, and she answered by reaching for him, hands stroking him through his pants,

"I could ask the same." She wasn't sure where her bold answer came from, but his groan told her he seemed to like it. She fumbled with his belt, and he pulled away from her, getting up from the bed to remove his pants and boxers, Lunafreya responding in kind by removing the last article of her clothing. He climbed back into the bed, hovering over her for a moment to admire her. He forced himself not to focus on the pain she must be in every time he saw the cacophony of color on her side, and rather admire the way she was looking at him. Her eyes wide, mouth parted as her chest heaved with each breath, her lips eventually coming together to whisper his name, a hand reaching to his cheek, sliding past his ear to tangle in his hair and pull him down to her for a heated kiss.

His hand wandered again, glad for the loss of their final cloth barriers. Lunafreya gasped at the intimacy of his touch, and was in awe of how six months had not made him forget the things that drove her from her senses. Curled fingers, a thumb moving in small rapid circles. It nearly drove her mad with pleasure, and felt her cheeks flush as she bucked her hips beneath him, hands reaching for his waist to pull him flush against her, his arm pinned between them, arching her neck so she could bring her lips to his neck, smiling against his skin when he moaned. Another roll of her hips and he couldn't bear the tension any longer. He had wanted to draw it out, to drive her to the edge at least once before joining her, but six damned months of fantasizing and longing, of missing her to the ends of Eos and back, and his senses left him. He removed his hand from her, grasping himself to guide into her, his moan drowning out her shuddered sigh. She arched and writhed beneath him as he found the patterns he knew would drive her crazy.

Lunafreya was a quiet partner, and he had to rely on the shifting pattern of her breathing, on the ways she moved beneath him, to tell him the things she liked. He restrained his own voice, wanting to hear her, wishing she would let go of whatever barriers were making her temper herself. He wanted to hear her cave to desire, make his ears ring with her divine voice. He whispered her name, and she responded in kind. He felt her reach her climax, and he hardly had the sense to withdraw from her for his own, having completely forgotten the concept of protection in the heated race for intimacy. Spent and sated Noctis rolled from her onto his back after helping her with aftercare, welcoming her into his arms as she climbed up next to him. Both were panting, foreheads shining with beats of sweat.

"I don't want you to leave." She whispered after enjoying their afterglow in silence. "Stay tonight?" she asked, her voice quivered betraying how vulnerable she felt. She didn't want to spend another night lying in bed alone, daydreaming of a pair of warm arms around her, of a familiar voice talking with her until she drifted off to sleep. She knew the request was dangerous. Her door was locked, but Ravus was an impatient man, and she tried to run scenarios in her head how to hide Noctis, or spirit him from her room should he knock early in the morning to summon her.

"There's nowhere else I want to be…" he answered her, tightening his embrace around her.

"I hope no one heard us." She admitted, allowing her fears to surface. She feared what the soldiers would be brazen enough to do should she lose her image as the demure and holy Oracle. _Is that why she's so quiet in bed with me?_ Noctis pondered, though he didn't want to shame her while she was so fragile, allowing him this glimpse into her darker fears.

"I think if anyone did your brother would have already torn your door off its hinges and beat me with it," he joked, relieved to hear her chuckle. He hadn't realized just how tense she was until her limbs relaxed, and she fit better in his embrace. His right arm that she was leaning on was already beginning to grow numb, and he shifted uncomfortably in the bed. "The bigger question is how do we order enough food for two people without being obvious?" She let out an amused exhale through her nose,

"Hungry already?"

"No, just thinking about later."

"Then we'll think about it later… right now, I'd like a little sleep." She answered him. She wasn't excessively tired, but had no desire to part from him just yet and sleep seemed like a perfect excuse.

"I wouldn't argue with a nap."

"You never do." Lunafreya chuckled. The numbness in his arm was beginning to get to him and he shifted on his side, lightly pushing on her shoulder to get her to do the same. Noctis reached towards the foot of the bed for the blankets and pulled them up over them. Once on his side again she shimmied backwards so her back was flush against his chest, smiling with a quiet hum as he wound an arm around her to keep her close, blankets pulled snug around them.

"I love you."

"And I love you."


	5. Sweet Tooth

**It's Tuesday and I managed to get my update posted =D I'm going to start doing what others do and reply to reviews with PMs rather than here. Makes life a bit easier. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

It was a hard knock on Lunafreya's room door that jolted her from sleep, and she had to clamp her hand over Noctis's mouth to silence what would have been a groggy protest, glad for Pryna's barking helping cover any possible sound of his voice. Noctis never seemed to have his wits during the first few minutes of consciousness. She called out to inquire who it was, but she knew it was her brother.

"I was about to shower Ravus. Can this wait?" she called back. He muttered on the other side of the door before responding the affirmative, and she let out a slow breath and flopped back against her pillows. "Noct… you best wake." She removed her hand from his mouth, using it to shake his shoulder. He rolled onto his stomach, burying his face into the pillow and she rolled her eyes, shaking him harder, "Noct!" she hissed through clenched teeth, but after a second groggy moan she reached for his far shoulder, tugging on him so he was on his back and pinched his cheek, finally snapping his eyes open.

"What-" she clamped her hand over his mouth again when she realized how loudly he was about to protest this rude awakening.

"Ravus came to summon me, what for I'm unsure. But I told him I was about to shower. You must leave." She whispered to him, and he finally seemed to grasp at her words. He reached up to touch her cheek,

"I'm not ready to leave you yet," he answered.

"Neither am I. But you must." He frowned, leaning up to pull her into a kiss,

"You'll have to make it up to me later." He told her, returning her smile. They both slid from the bed; Noctis dressing quickly as Lunafreya gathered her things and gathered some sleeping clothes to change into after her shower. He appreciated the fact she did not redress, and walked up to her quickly, stealing one last kiss, leaning into her ears to whisper something untoward that brought a deep crimson glow to her cheeks. She smiled as he backed away towards her window, summoning his engine blade so he could warp to the ground. He made a mental note of which window was hers for an easier return trip later that wouldn't require risking walking down that hall full of Imperials again.

Lunafreya entered the shower, needing a blast of cold water before turning the knob to hot to help her ease the fresh tension Noctis ignited in her with his kiss and whispered words. She tried to tell herself she needed to be better at keeping her senses, but she was always turned into a fool in the arms of her Prince. She was thankful that Ravus was familiar with her preference to shower at night, needing the ritual to help her relax, so her impromptu excuse to keep him from her room would not seem suspicious. She only hoped the Prince warping away from her window had not drawn attention. She lingered under the hot water, guilt rising in her heart. She knew she would have to tell him about awakening the Six, but she had not wanted to spoil their little bubble of ignorant bliss. She only hoped he would not resent her for holding such harsh news from him, trying to reassure herself Noctis had only ever shown her nothing but patience. She tried to ease her guilt by recalling the promise he made to her as a child,

 _I won't let you down._

She stepped form the shower, drying herself and dressing in her night slip and a thin satin robe before wrapping her wet hair in a towel. The only shoes she owned were heels given to her by the Empire, as all her garments. She wished she had something warmer and more practical to wear, wondering why she had to keep up the image of the Oracle even in her sleep. Not wanting to aggravate the ache in her ankles, or further irritate the callouses in her feet with heels she decided to remain barefoot. She walked across the hall to knock on her brother's door to inquire why he had disturbed her earlier. _Had he heard us? No… Noctis is right. He wouldn't have been able to control himself if he was aware._ She heard footsteps from through the door, and looked up at her brother when he opened the door.

"You knocked earlier?" she inquired,

"Yes. Come in Lunafreya." She followed him into his room, and he noted her bare feet. "Are your feet cold?" she looked at her feet and admitted that she was. Ravus walked up to his suitcase, digging through it, and pulled out a pair of white socks. "They're big… but they'll keep your feet warm. They're clean, I promise… This too," he paused, and pulled out his own robe, walking up to his sister to drape it around her shoulders.

"Thank you." She smiled, grateful for this small gesture. She pulled the socks over her chilled feet, hugging the robe around her. "What did you need from me earlier?" she inquired.

"Did you tell the Prince about awakening the Six, when you two left for the city?" he asked her. She sighed, wishing the warm moment between her and Ravus could have lasted a moment longer before he fell back into duty. She couldn't help but feel loneliness creep back into her heart, cursing how alone she could feel even sitting with her brother.

"No. I wanted to enjoy our reunion before bringing that up-"

"You need to tell him!" She furrowed her brow and frowned at him, fingers gripping the edges of his robe tighter.

"I am aware of this. One day will not alter our fates, we will not fail in this quest because I wanted _one day_ of ignorant bliss with him."

"Ignorance is all that boy knows."

"Please! I've told you already I wish not to argue his merits. He brings me joy, whether you accept this or not. Did you only come to me to pour salt into these wounds? I am aware of the hardship we are about to face. Let me have _one day_ where I can just be happy to see him again." She pleaded. "You say you wish to see me happy, yet you chide me for feeling so. If this is the only reason you summoned me then I wish to return to my room and rest."

"No. Lunafreya…" he sighed, letting out a frustrated grunt. "I'm sorry. It's not why I was seeking your attention. I just…" he stopped, balling a fist and releasing it, trying to force back the bitter words he wanted to say. She had pleaded with him not to spew the vitriol he felt for that _boy_ , and found himself cursing her affection for him. "I wanted to know if you wanted to have dinner together. I've been so busy with work lately we haven't talked much aside from my being an ass. If you're about to awaken the Six… I just want to spend a little time with my sister… not the Oracle."

"I'd like that." She smiled, releasing her fists and tying the robe around her waist so she could rest her hands on her lap.

"Some fish I assume?" he asked her, and she nodded. He went to the room phone, Lunafreya unable to suppress the feeling of bitterness the one in her own room had been removed, and ordered some food for them. He sat down at the table after telling her it would be a little bit of time. "What do you think of Altissia?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably in the chair. He was terrible at small talk, but it had been so long since he had a meaningful conversation with her he wasn't sure where to start. She hadn't left Tenebrae since childhood, only leaving the Manor under Imperial escort to surrounding towns. He remembered her enthralled expression on the airship, and was making an attempt to recapture that moment of carefree wonder.

"It's beautiful," she answered, giving him the smile he was hoping for. "The food really is everything I was told it would be… the seafood is divine. I'm also quite excited to try that coffee-cream cake you ordered. I hear it's a local delicacy?"

"I figured you'd want to try it. I know you like tea better than coffee. Or last I knew." _I don't even know what my sister prefers to drink. Has it really been this long since I've done something besides chide her about that_ boy _or her duties?_ He admonished.

"I do prefer tea, but I'd quite like to try that dessert. You know my sweet tooth," she smiled.

"Do you still sneak into the kitchens through all those secret passages?" he asked her, happy to grasp at something he remembered so vividly. They were actually _his_ secret passages, ones he taught her when she was old enough to use them, yet still small enough to get away with it; during their carefree days where trying to avoid being grounded by their mother was the biggest worry they ever had.

"From time to time the Oracle is known to act more like Lunafreya," she responded with a grin, "how else is a girl to satisfy her sweet tooth?" Ravus laughed, picturing her slipping through those narrow halls, or curling herself into a dumbwaiter so she could steal treats from the kitchen. It pained him that he didn't do enough to ease the pain the Empire caused, and wondered why he didn't visit her more often in her room with a tray of sweets. He wondered if he had allowed the Empire's image of her as this divine Goddess-like Oracle to make him forget that deep down she was still just a young woman with all the same wants and desires his dear sister had as a child.

"Still partial to those ulwaat tarts?"

"I haven't changed all _that_ much," she smiled. "What about you? You always liked chocolate."

"I haven't outgrown my love of chocolate." He allowed himself to finally smile, and saw the immediate shift in his sister's posture.

"There's my brother, _Ravus_ , not the ever-stern Commander of Nifleheim's army." She taunted, jutting her bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. They talked about the various times they got themselves in trouble with their mother. The times they covered for each other, or had somehow successfully pleaded with a maid to keep their behavior a secret. To games of tag, and their games of truth or dare that consisted entirely of dares that would escalate until they either got in trouble; or one of them managed to hurt themselves. The food was delivered and they reminisced about the rare occasion their mother would take over the duty of cooking from the kitchen attendants, and the mishaps that occurred when they tried to replicate these actions. They avoided any topic of the fateful day that robbed them of their blissful life. They discussed neither Nifleheim nor Lucis, and for once, simply felt like brother and sister laughing over coffee-cream tarts.

Noctis walked back to the front of the hotel, getting a confused look from the woman at the front desk who could not remember the Prince walking past her to leave the hotel. He waved at her and head to the elevators, ignoring her continued gaze. He pushed _3_ to bring him to the third floor, and walked down to the room he was sharing with his friends. He pat his pockets and realized he had stormed out of the room without his wallet. He rolled his eyes, and knocked on the door,

"Guys it's me. Let me in." he called through the door. He was fully expecting some rude sarcastic remark, a lecture about irresponsibility, or to simply be left outside until he phased through the door. Instead, Gladiolus opened the door allowing Noctis inside. He walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out one of the sodas and dropped himself onto the couch.

"Noct." He looked up to Gladiolus, stiffening as he expected to start their fight anew, already forming his arguments in his head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you that it was fine to go out alone, only to secretly follow you. I was just trying to do my job, as your Shield your friend… but I kind of went at it like an ass." the words sounded rehearsed, and he wondered how much Ignis had his hands in his apology. Sentimentality was certainly not the large man's strength. But rather than mock him for sounding so unlike him he felt his anger subside.

"Thanks…" he answered. "Just do me one thing man… apologize to Luna next time you see her, okay?" he asked as compromise.

"I guess I owe her one." Noctis bit back the first remark that came to mind to prevent reigniting a fight, and just shrugged in response, occupying his mouth with a large sip of sugar.

"That was a pretty long walk. Did you go get something to eat?" Ignis inquired,

"Or a few beers." Gladiolus cut in, and Noctis grabbed at the excuse to cover up his real activities.

"Yeah. Walked around Altissia, had a few beers, found a place with good burgers." He lied quickly, hoping his friends didn't notice how red his face had grown.

"Get lost too with those beers in your system?" Gladiolus asked. He felt a bit agitated at the thought his King once again was wandering around Altissia alone.

"I needed to clear my head, okay?" Noctis replied defensively.

"Fishing always helped you clear your thoughts better than alcohol." Ignis observed. "Perhaps you could have another go at fishing in these Altissian waters? Gladiolus had informed me you found quite the secluded location."

"I wouldn't mind keeping my damn mouth shut and enjoying a book." Gladiolus replied, a peace offering. Noctis looked at his friends from the corner of his eye, wondering just how angry his earlier outburst had been if they were trying this hard to soothe him. But fishing sounded like a good idea, and he had to admit he'd rather immediately return to their usual camaraderie rather than hold onto anger out of sheer stubbornness.

"If you manage to catch something edible I suppose I could cook it up for us. Quite nice to work with whole fish once in a while." Ignis added, and with that suggested it was decided that they should all go to the spot Noctis had found earlier. It wasn't until they were leaving that Prompto finally voiced a complaint,

"Wait we're really gonna sit around watching Noctis fish all night?"

"Not _all_ night. But a little quiet contemplation would do you good Prompto. Borrow one of Gladiolus or I's books to read if you're worried King's Knight won't keep your attention." Ignis offered,

"I should just stay here and watch something on T.V" he rolled his eyes but was busy putting on his boots nonetheless. They departed, walking through the city streets as Noctis led them to the place he had attempted to fish with Lunafreya earlier. He made a mental note to himself to try and do so again, longing for the peace of her sitting beside him on the dock. He pulled out his rod, taking Ignis's advice of which lure to use as he attached it to the line, casting it out into the water. The only disturbance to the peaceful quiet was the brief King's Knight theme music pouring out of Prompto's phone before he thumbed the volume down, sitting with his back against the stone wall of the building they were hiding behind. Gladiolus and Ignis were engaged in conversation about the books they were reading, and Noctis was content to sit on his own.

"Anything biting?" Prompto asked,

"It's been two minutes!" Noctis shot back defensively. Prompto grumbled bending his knees as he busied himself with his phone again.

"I don't know how you can just sit there. You're not exactly patient yourself there buddy." Noctis shrugged in response to Prompto's remark, not having a witty response to him.

"I'm surprised you came with us. You never come fishing with me."

"Sit in a hotel room alone while everyone else enjoys Altissia, no way man!"

"Look if it'll shut you up what if we go get a beer?" Gladiolus suggested, closing his book. "Ignis I'll trust you not to get your Prince killed while his Shield goes to grab a beer?" he asked.

"Perfect! We can walk around a bit, find a nice bar." He leapt to his feet, tapping his leg impatiently as he waited for Gladiolus to join him, and the two men vanished leaving Noctis and Ignis alone.

"He's worse than me." Noctis broke the silence, and gave a jerk when he felt a pull on his line. "Feels big!" He commented.

"You didn't just take a walk to clear your head earlier, did you?" Ignis replied, ignoring the comment about the fish.

"What do you think I was doing?" Noctis grunted as he fought with the fish on the end of his line, grinning proudly once he pulled it from the water, happy to see the hook didn't injury its gills allowing him to release it back into the water. Ignis watched Noctis cast his line again.

"You did not simply leave for a bar. Drinking away your anger has never been your way, Noct." He prodded. Noctis mumbled something quietly under his breath, wishing Ignis would just state what he was thinking, and stop trying to lead him.

"Cut to the chase man…" he repeated audibly.

"I think you went to see the Lady Lunafreya." He answered. The way Noctis stiffened told Ignis all he needed. "Did you cheer the Lady after her… mishap with Gladiolus? He's never been the most tactful of men." Noctis was grateful his back was turned to his friend couldn't see the heat staining his cheeks. He rolled his shoulders to try and relax his posture, loosening his grip on the fishing pole when he realized how white his knuckles were.

"I did go check on Luna…" he admitted carefully.

"How is she?" Ignis asked in a careful tone. Noctis could hear the creaking planks of wood as his friend walked up to him, and sat beside him, legs crossed. He looked at him with a raised brow, knowing how much Ignis loathed sitting on the ground, let alone a damp dock where Noctis had recently splashed water and touched a fish.

"She's-" he almost said _just fine_ but couldn't finish the lie. "She's hurt… Gladio really got her shaken up, and she has this giant bruise on her ribs. I thought she was just being really flinchy at first…" he admitted, needing to talk to _someone_ about the roiling emotions fighting inside of him, not able to keep them to himself anymore and decided not to bother being coy or leading up with a delicate dance around the subject. Ignis was the only person besides himself, and possibly Luna's ass of a brother, who knew about her abuse. He sighed, toying with the rod a bit to try and tease any fish, idly reeling it in a meter or two. "She's hurt and there's nothing I can do about it. I can't get her to talk about it. I can't do anything."

"I'm sure simply going to see her helped quite a bit." Ignis argued back. He allowed a moment of silence to settle between them, giving the Prince adequate time to search for his words.

"What kind of King will I be one day if I can't stop the Empire from hurting _one_ person? Not just any person… Luna. Lucis's future _Queen_. How am I supposed to protect my entire country from them? How can I reassure my people I'm a good enough leader if I couldn't even protect their future Queen?" _My Luna._ He lamented. "What kind of…" he paused for a moment, finding the next word foreign on his tongue, "husband… can I be to her, if I couldn't protect her? Can't protect her?" He continued.

"You can protect her now Noct. It's best not to dwell on the barriers of the past, and rather, focus on the new path ahead of you. And this treaty will help protect Lucis from Nifleheim."

"For how long? It'll start with an alliance, then we'll probably be annexed as an independent province like Accordio, then the empire can squash us under their thumb like everywhere else. I know everyone thinks I shirk my duties and never pay attention and just run around like the spoiled oblivious little princeling disappointing everyone, grating my father, the joke of the Citadel. But I'm not blind Ig. I know how much everything _sucks_. I mean… we _both_ saw the shape Lucis was in on the drive to Galdin Quay, and that was the _main_ roads!" He squinted, trying to alleviate the burning in his eyes before it turned into tears. The empire was slowly taking all of Eos, and only his father's wall was keeping them out of Insomnia, and by extension the rest of Lucis. But how long could that keep up? How much longer before the Crystal took the last of his father's energy and the walls crumbled as Nifleheim grew stronger day by day.

"We have to face things one day at a time. You'll drive yourself to madness obsessing over an unknown future."

"You're always telling me to look towards the future." He shot back, not intending for his tone to carry his anger with it, quickly apologizing and reeling in his line to recast it. Ignis's posture didn't change, and he didn't chide Noctis's tone.

"To an extent. You're worrying on a future that might be, obsessing on things you can't control. Focus on what you _can_. You're doing your part to make peace by marrying the Lady Lunafreya. You're helping the Lady simply by being there with her. I know you would have spirited her away from Tenebrae were you able, and I am sure she knows this as well."

"All those times I visited… I should have found a way..." He mumbled. "I just wish I could do _something_."

"What about a gift for the Lady?" Ignis suggested. Noctis's posture straightened and a fragile smile finally pulled at his features.

"That's a great idea, we do have a little money leftover from those hunts." Noctis answered, mentally chiding himself for not thinking of it on his own. He pondered for a moment, wondering what to get for her. Picking a gift was always a challenge. Between her simplistic tastes, and how much the Empire controlled every aspect of her life, his options were fairly limited. He had often purchased new scarves for Umbra, been the one to pick a new color notebook, sent her packets of stickers for said notebooks. Books were always a popular choice, and he tried to find a variety for her not available in the libraries of the Manor in Tenebrae. She had a small CD-player with which she could enjoy music, though her options were mainly limited to selections provided by the Empire, usually Nifleheimer orchestras. _Something befitting the holy image of the Oracle_ she used to mock. Though she admitted a fondness for the Gralean Philharmonic Orchestra. _How can a place so dark produce something so beautiful?_ She used to ask him, when sharing her love of their music with her.

"Let's go walk the shops, see if you catch anything you think would catch her fancy." Ignis pulled him from his thoughts, Noctis vanishing his rod as he voiced his agreement.

"Though let's find a candy shop."

"Need to satisfy your sweet tooth first?"

"Hers too, she likes maple candies a lot. They're pretty common in Tenebrae, think they sell them here in Accordio too?"

"Never would have pegged the Princess as one to have a sweet tooth." Ignis admitted, almost sounding disappointed. "I doubt that the trees grow right up to the Accordio border and refuse to spread further. I am sure we can find her some maple candies." Feeling his mood significantly brighter than it had been an hour earlier Noctis let Ignis lead the way through the narrow streets until they could walk aside each other down the main boulevard.

They found a small sweet shop sandwiched between two restaurants, and you could simply smell the sugar in the air. Inside there was one large wall dedicated to the most popular brands, but the rest of the store seem dedicated to handmade candies. Fudge, taffy, truffles, chocolate coated fruits and nuts, candied fruits; and thankfully, the pressed maple-sugar candies Noctis was hoping to find. He grabbed the largest box he could find, wincing slightly at the price and thanking the Six they had so much money left after the hunts they did.

"Find what you were looking for?" Ignis's voice cut in. He was holding a small bag in his own hand filled with dark round balls.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Bit pricey… but it's her favorite." He felt immediately defensive about spending so much of his share of their funds but Ignis held up a hand,

"You don't have to justify it with me Noct. Spend your share as you see fit."

"You have a fever man?" he reached out to feel his friend's forehead, shaking his head. "Clearly sick. Gonna hafta put you down. So sad…" he shood his head with an exaggerated sniffle, running the back of his hand under his dry nose.

"Very funny." Ignis rolled his eyes, "ready to pay?"

"We should grab something for Prompto too. He'd kill us if he found out we went to a candy store and left him out. He's the only one with a sweet-tooth worst that mine." He suggested.

"You're all going to die of tooth-rot." Ignis sighed, and they looked around for something Prompto would like, eventually settling on a large bag of a variety of jelly bean flavors.

"Yeah. And now I'm really concerned… you're getting candy too? You're not exactly the sugar-type"

"Dark chocolate coated coffee beans. More bitter than sweet. I'm allowed a guilty pleasure now and then." It was his turn to feel defensive.

"You find it a sacrilege to put cream or sugar into coffee, but you like chocolate coated coffee beans?"

"A drink and the whole beans are a different thing. And as I stated it's dark chocolate… not as sweet as milk chocolate."

"Just teasing you. Eat whatever you want." He assured him, and gave him a pat on the back, "And I promise not tell the guys," he added with a smirk. Ignis simply rolled his eyes again and they walked up to the counter to pay for their goods, and returned to the streets of Altissia. They hadn't realized how air conditioned the sweet shop was until they returned to the warm air of outside. Despite the fact the sun had set, and the refreshing sea breeze, Noctis shrugged off his usual jacket to sling it over his shoulder and noticing that Ignis was doing the same. There was a street performer playing the violin a dozen meters down the road, which caught Noctis's attention. He remembered Lunafreya telling him how fond she was of strings; and the way the man was playing was quite different from the usual classical music he usually associated with the instrument. Ignis's voice echoed his thoughts beside him,

"Interesting… never heard the violin played like this."

"I know right?" Noctis noted that he was selling CDs of his music, and assumed Lunafreya would find this as enjoyable as he did. He waited for the man to finish his song and purchased a copy of the music, placing it in the bag with the candy and thanking him before they continued their walk. He almost felt silly, walking along shopping like a teenaged girl. But the walk and talking with Ignis was doing a good job of cheering him, and finding these little things that he knew would cheer Lunafreya was helping to ease his guilt and feelings of helplessness.

"Mind if we find a bookstore?" Ignis asked, and Noctis reminded him he wanted to find one anyways to pick up some books for Lunafreya. He still felt quite bitter about his with Gladiolus, but didn't disparage his friend when he suggested they also pick up something for Gladiolus. "I'll send him a text; see if there's a particular book he would like us to pick up while we are there." Noctis couldn't help but let his lingering resentment expect Gladiolus to harass him and Ignis for _shopping around like a pair of teenage girls_ probably with some snarky remark about how the Oracle had him under her thumb. He sighed, trying to force himself to settle and get his mind out of such an angry state. He didn't wish to be fighting with his Shield anymore, and expecting a fight would only make him more apt to snap at him.

The book store was deceptively larger on the inside than the outside of the build would suggest. The shelves were placed closer together to allow for more books to be on display, and Noctis made his way to the fantasy section. He tried to recall the name of Lunafreya's favorite author and found himself absent the memory. Ignis was happy to provide suggestions, though his preference was more in line with science fiction. They settled on a novel about a fairy who curses the daughter of a pauper who tricked her, and the young woman's quest to find a wizard who can cure her cure, and a second about a trickster god who was bound in human form by the other gods.

"What did Gladio ask for?" Noctis asked, books in hand. Ignis held up a thriller that had presumably been requested. "You find something good for yourself?"

"A good sci fi to help me pass the time." He acknowledged. They paid for the books shortly before the store closed, and began the walk back to the hotel. They were surprised to find that Gladiolus and Prompto had returned as well.

"Hey guys!" Prompto greeted,

"Welcome back," Gladiolus echoed.

"Enjoy the bar?" Noctis asked,

"Yeah! They had this like little microbrew bar, so we did all these samples of their beers. It was great!" Prompto explained, and Noctis lifted his brow,

"Huh, you'll have to show me tomorrow." He commented, intrigued at the news of a local small brewery.

"What'cha got there?"

"Oh, picked up a few things while we were out. Here," Noctis answered, tossing the bag of jelly beans at Prompto who let out a squeak of delight,

"Oh man, this brand of jelly beans is the _best_!" He exclaimed, quickly untying the knot on the bag to pull a couple out to pop into his mouth, "Thanks dude!"

"We also got that book you wanted Gladio," Ignis reached into his bag, pulling out the aforementioned item. Noctis was surprised that Gladiolus didn't tease him, and supposed his Shield was just as tired of fighting as he was. He felt the tension in his limbs leave, glad to have things feel like they were back to normal. He placed the bag with the things he gathered for Lunafreya on the counter, and mentally chided himself for not thinking of pausing at a gift shop to put it in a bag or wrap it in some fashion.

"We have anything lying around like a brown paper bag or some newspaper?" he asked. The friends all shook their heads,

"I think I'm put off of newspapers forever after that asshole in Galdin." Gladiolus huffed.

"Gotta agree with you there," Noctis agreed. He was a bit disappointed.

"Actually we do have some brown paper bags from food shopping." Ignis commented.

"When did you go food shopping?"

"When you were taking your walk earlier." Ignis replied. Noctis was grateful that he helped keep up the Prince's cover. "Here," he walked over to the cabinet where he had stashed the bags, neatly folded up. "You know how I hate to waste. I was hoping to find a use for them." He assumed their use, and agreed to help Noctis wrap the gifts for the Oracle in the brown paper, since the Prince was a lost cause at making _anything_ look neat.

"Never would have pegged the poised little woman to have a sweet tooth, no wonder I felt like I would develop diabetes from just being around you two." Gladiolus remarked when he saw Ignis pull the maple candies out of the bag, Noctis telling his Shield it wasn't for himself.

"She's full of surprises." Noctis replied with a shy smile, glad Gladiolus's teasing remark didn't retain the anger it had earlier.

"Gonna have to buy some insulin man, once the two little lovebirds are married you'll have to deal with them fluttering all over the Citadel making all of us nauseous!" Prompto added, "hey man! Just telling it like it is!" he put his hands up defensively when Noctis gave him a narrow-eyed glare.

"Kinda like the way we had to watch you ogle that mechanic in Hammerhead?" Noctis quipped back.

"Oh Cindy…" Prompto sighed,

"You just want to watch her wash the windshield again. Pretty sure that washcloth wasn't the thing doing the most scrubbing," Gladiolus added.

"You think if I take some nice pictures of cars from Insomnia she'll go on a date when she sees how awesome I am?" Prompto suggested. "Hey Noct, led me the Regalia for a day, she can't say no to _that_ car! She loved it!"

"Over my dead body." Ignis retorted.

"Just _one little date_?" Prompto pleaded. "C'mon give a guy a chance. Noct has Luna, Gladio hooks up with anything capable of saying _yes_ , and you're married to the Regalia, who do I have?" he inquired.

"I am not married to the car! I just prefer to pay the royal car, which still belongs to our King might I remind you, the respect she deserves. And okay, I'll make a deal," Ignis suggested. "You win the favor of the fair Cindy, and I shall allow you the use of the Regalia to spirit the young woman on a proper date.

"Awe thanks man!"

"I don't get a say in this? It's my dad's car after all."

"Pretty sure the King trusts specs with it more than you," Gladiolus quipped.

"Oh come on, I'm not _that_ bad a driver!" he shot back defensively. Ignis finished fastening the last of the gifts for Lunafreya, presenting the fruits of his labors to Noctis, who admitted how impressed he was at the job he did. It looked like a parcel out of the old movies where there was always a mailman delivering a package wrapped in brown paper and twine. "Well you guys fight over who deserves the car more, I promised Luna I'd go visit her," he kept his head low to hide the blush in his cheeks. There was no use in lying where he was going, and now that his fight with Gladiolus seemed resolved he was less reluctant to admit to seeing her.

"Have _fun_ tonight!" Prompto laughed, and were the man not out of reach Noctis swore to himself he would have punched him in the chest. "Gladio isn't the _only_ one who knows how to woo a lady I guess." He let out a long sigh, "maybe I can get that date with that lovely mechanic. I have a thing for blondes you know."

"Pretty sure she's more in love with the Regalia than any man she's ever encountered." Noctis replied,

"Maybe that's why Iggy won't let me borrow the Regalia to woo Cindy, worried about her cheating on him!"

"I already told you!" Ignis shot back, but his voice trailed off in a series of mumbles, dropping himself into a chair and pulling out the new book he purchased for himself, determined not to dig his hole any deeper and ignore the jab Prompto threw at him. He shooed Noctis out the door with a gesture, Noctis promising he wouldn't get himself killed on the way to Lunafreya's room to soothe the anxiety of his Shield who was once again forced to watch his charge walk away from his custody alone.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed some Fleuret sibling bonding, some Iggy/Noct bro-bonding, and a bit of the chocobros. Let me know what you think :)**


	6. Breakfast

This chapter ended up being a bit longer than usual, but I hope you enjoy it. We get plenty of Luna/Noctis fluff and some chocobros.

I'm going to start replying to reviews in PMs rather than the start of chapters, makes life easier.

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Noctis left the hotel, glad in hindsight he had left before the change of shift, so his failure to return through the lobby would go unnoticed. He wound his way around the building and looked up to count the number of windows until he was sure he reached the right one. But counting had proved unnecessary, as Lunafreya had taped up a picture of a sylleblossums to her window, and he knew there was no one else who would do that. The gesture could look innocent to anyone visiting her room, knowing her adoration for the flowers, but he smiled at the invitation. He was just sorry it took so long for him to fulfill his promise to return to her, and hoped he wasn't about to wake her. He summoned his Engine Blade, throwing it above the window to warp to it, his little brown packages tucked under his other arm. He clutched the hilt, kicking away from the building and phasing through the window as he swung back towards it. He crashed unceremoniously into the table near the window, stumbling to the floor in a pile of limbs, packages, and a clatter of noise.

A startled yelp was punctuated within several seconds by hard pointing on the door. Noctis looked up at a very disheveled Lunafreya in a brief moment of panic, but she placed her index finger over his lips and turned her head towards the door,

"Sorry Ravus, was looking for the bathroom in the dark and knocked into the dining table. I'm quite alright!" She called,

"Be more careful! You'll wake half the floor." He complained back. "Should I come in and help you fix it?"

"No, these tables aren't quite so heavy I cannot manage on my own. Go back to sleep." Retreating footsteps told them that her rapid lie was effective, the pair letting out a sigh of relief. "Noct!" she hissed at him, and even in the dark he could see how dilated her eyes were.

"Sorry… I didn't expect to phase in and knock a table over." He replied in a whisper. He carefully righted the table and chair before collecting his packages. "Uhh… I was hoping for a more romantic surprise… but I guess instead I woke you up into a panic huh?" he asked her, an crooked smile on his face. He set the packages down and walked up to her, pulling her into his arms and could feel the tremor in her limbs.

"I'm alright. More startled by all the sudden noise than by our close call." She assured him before he could voice any anxiety. She took a deep breath and backed out of his embrace to run a hand through her hair. She had let her hair down from its usual style, the kinks from her braids giving some of her hair a messy wave that matched her kinked bangs, a few stray hairs sticking at odd angles.

"You look pretty adorable." He whispered, and she rolled her eyes despite the deep flush in her cheeks,

"Startled is the new chic?" He made a strange gagging noise as he tried to hold back his laugh. He couldn't recall if he had ever heard her be sarcastic before.

"I promised I'd come back," he offered. "Oh, and I got you a little something…" he shyly gestured to the table when Lunafreya cocked her head curiously at him and bit her lip a bit. _She always did get quite shy whenever I got her a gift._ He pondered, enjoying the flush to her cheeks and that childish way she knit her fingers when she was unsure how to respond.

"You didn't have to… I have nothing for you…" she answered him, and he chuckled at her.

"Give me a kiss and we'll call it even." He offered. She smiled at this, stepping back into his arms, hands placed on his shoulders as she stood the barest bit on her toes to reach his lips, a sigh tickling his cheek as he moaned against her. While he wanted to indulge he carefully pushed her back and nodded again towards the table. She gave him another shy smile, walking towards the table and took a seat.

"Honestly Noct… like you, merely seeing you is gift enough. You make a girl blush." The book was revealed first, her smile widening, "You remembered I love fantasy!" she wondered. He shrugged and made a gesture for her to keep going. The candy was next, and she insisted that they sit on the bed together and share it. "How do you always remember my favorite things?" she marveled. Her life was such a narrow hallway she rarely voiced her opinions for it only reminded her how few choices she ever had.

"What kind of Prince would I be if I couldn't remember what makes my Princess happy?" She smiled at him,

"You're the only one who can say I'm _theirs_." Her words quivered slightly, but her smile looked genuine, and for once her posture wasn't tense.

"You don't belong to _anyone_." He answered her, wishing he had chosen his words more carefully.

"When you call me yours… I know its different." She clarified. "I _am_ yours _._ Come… let's sit on the bed, listen to this music you got me, and eat candy until we feel sick." She suggested again. "I am not familiar with this name. Though admittedly I'm rarely familiar with names of artists."

"I didn't know this guy either. He was just some guy playing the violin downtown. Was really cool, and I remembered you like strings a lot and it made me think of you."

"Let's see what this street artist has to offer." She moved over to her bag, digging through it, and inside some folded clothing she pulled out her small CD-player, nearly leaping onto the bed with her excitement and patting the spot beside her. She plugged in the headphones, handing Noctis one of the earbuds. He sat down next to her and accepted the first maple candy she offered him a she thumbed the device on, and the music began to play. He scooted closer to her, an arm wrapped around her shoulder. They rested against the bed's headboard, Lunafreya's head resting against his chest, one hand winding her fingers with his. Despite her joke of eating until they were sick, after a second piece of candy she decided she wanted to make the rest last. She enjoyed the music coming from the earbud, voicing how strange it was to hear a violin used to play something not classical.

"I love you…" she whispered after some time. Her voice sounded strained, and her shoulders tensed a bit, her grip on his fingers tightening.

"I love you too… you… alright?" he asked her. Her brother's words were swimming in her mind. _I have to tell him._

"Do you remember when we were children, and we talked about what it meant to be the Crystal's Chosen and the Oracle?" she began. This time Noctis's limbs tightened and he pulled her a little closer, fear rising in his heart at why she would bring this up. He wasn't quite ready for their cloud of contentment to come down from cloud nine.

"Of course."

"And you remember Gentiana?"

"Your retainer when you were a kid, right? That woman with the black hair."

"Well. She wasn't just my retainer. She was a messenger of the Astrals. Before I came to Altissia she… she told me…" she faltered, searching for the words. Searching for the way to tell him it was time to something no one of the Lucian line has done in thousands of years. Why did she have to drop this burden on him? _The Crystal's Chosen King of Light and the Oracle are to work together_. She reminded herself. "It's time to awaken the Six. Its… It's time to finally purge our star of the Scourge. Of the Blight. I've been keeping it at bay as best I can… but there's something _wrong._ " She continued. Discussing her own role in this made it easier for her to bear him this news. "It's time for the King of Light and the Oracle to stand together. To purge it once and for all. To… to save our star."

There was a brief stretch of silence, Noctis enveloping her with both his arms. He remembered the stories. His arms were tense, and he felt his heart begin to race. His breath hitched, and he tasted something metallic in the back of his throat. He remembered his father training him on how to gather a royal arm, though only in concept. He taught him how to perform elemancy, and about his duty to the Crystal as its chosen. He remembered a small blonde child excitedly reading a book to a little boy, talking about duty and prophecy in a far-off future that sounded more like a fairy tale than their future. The two would pretend to be the superheroes from this story, acting out their roles despite Noctis being relegated to a wheelchair. He remembered histories and stories, wondering which were true and which were fable. He remembered a crippling injury that made him question his worth. He remembered his father's brace, his limp, his grey hair; the price of the Ring of the Lucii, the _gift_ from the Crystal. He remembered a promise.

"I won't let you down."

The betrothed royals lay on the bed in silence for many minutes, listening to the music and clutching each other. Lunafreya had her head nestled into the crook of his shoulder, sighing as she felt Noctis idly play with her hair with his free hand. She chided herself for fearing telling him the news about the covenants, his words brought her mind back to that warm sunny day sitting beside an eight-year-old Noctis with a book in her lap as he made that promise to her. Like her, he was aware of his future. This duty was no mystery, no sudden revelation. Yet still, so close to the eve of their wedding she had to bear him this burden when instead she merely wanted to bear him a ring and pretty but honest vows. She had yet to tell him that Gentiana felt the wedding was a trap. Though she herself had suspected this, she allowed her desire for it to fog her judgement. This was the one joyous thing given to her, and it was likely a trap.

"So… where do we go from here?" Noctis inquired, not entirely sure what he was supposed to do first. He remembered the stories, the training. But no one had ever told him what the very first step would be. He thought about how in movies, television shows, books, the stories his father would tell him, the hero always seemed to know how to go about his journey. Now that he was facing his own, he had no idea what to do.

"I must awaken the Astrals, each in their own turn. Once awoken, you must forge a covenant with them-"

"No I mean what's the first step? Which Astral do we go to?"

"I believe we should first collect some of your ancestor's weapons. To prove your worth to the Six."

"Right… my father told me about that part. I kinda wish he took me to one of the tombs to show me what to do… I mean, he told me _ho_ wto do it… but I've never collected one."

"I don't think this is something he could have _showed_ you until it was time to actually collect one."

"Okay… good point there." He tried to remember the location of the royal tombs. He had scattered memories, but felt confident Ignis would have a better recollection for these geographical facts than him. He made a mental note to himself to task Ignis with marking a map for them. He wished he had paid better attention to his history lessons. But tales of old Kings and Queens had never seemed to catch his attention. He always paid better attention to his combat lessons with Gladiolus, or his rare trips with his father to learn elemancy.

"So it seems returning to Lucis should be our first step." Lunafreya almost added _after the wedding_ but she couldn't shake the sense of foreboding she had regarding it. She wished Gentiana would come to her again to provide guidance. "We have one step completed…" she began, "Gentiana isn't just a messenger to the Astrals… She's Shiva." Lunafreya quickly held up her palm to forestall Noctis's reaction, "She forged a covenant with me when I was thirteen." Noctis seemed ready to ask more questions but she shook her head against his chest, "Let's take this one day at a time… We can head to Lucis to start gathering the royal arms," She paused, _after the wedding,_ were the first words that appeared in her head, but instead spoke that they could set out the following week.

"So soon." He remarked. She feared for a moment he was hesitating to fulfill their roles, but before she could chide him he continued. "Strange to think that for twelve years it was just a story… and soon we're making it real. My friends are going to think I'm nuts. But they'll follow me anyway."

"You friends will come with us for this?"

"You really think they'd let me to poke some Gods with a stick alone? Prompto would come just for the excuse to take pictures of Lucis! None of them ever left insomnia."

"He's a photographer?" she inquired. He smiled a bit, his fingers beginning to trace along her arm. He began to talk about Prompto's photography. Gladiolus's skill at foraging or simply _finding_ things, it was like he was a treasure goblin. And Ignis's cooking. He could carry on for hours about the meals the man had produced. A day of fishing had always felt more satisfying when he could bring home his catch and Ignis would transform it into mana from heaven. Nothing helped him feel more relaxed after a hard day of training with Gladiolus than a bowl of Ignis's fish chowder. He tilted his head so he could see the smile on her face, and hoped it was a sign that she would be able to give them another chance after Gladiolus's nightmare first impression.

"But since we won't be alone on this adventure… let's take advantage of the alone time we have now."

"Why… what are you thinking my dear Prince?" she inquired with a flush. He smiled at her, rolling so she was on her back, he lying partially over her. He answered her by brushing his lips against hers, a second kiss he pressed a bit harder, and it was her who made the next move, licking his bottom lip in a request for more. He hummed against her, one hand cupping her head with a thumb playing with her earlobe. His other hand had been grasped by her, fingers lacing together and resting next to her head.

"One afternoon with you wasn't enough." He eventually whispered to her, grazing her neck with his teeth, smirking as she gasped at his gentle nip.

"You'll leave a mark." She whispered warningly. He wanted to respond with something witty or sexy, the kind of stupid response likely shoved in a terrible romance novel that girls read in droves; something to make her giggle and likely give him a playful slap against the shoulder. But he knew her warning wasn't playful and silenced himself by grazing a hand along her shoulder to pull at the strap of her top, his lips following the trail left by his fingers.

Her fingers wound in his hair, allowing herself a quiet hum and his other hand stopped the attention to her ear to under the hem of her night slip, palm moving agonizingly slow up her frame. She arched her back to ease his task and sat up with his help so he could remove the garment completely. Noctis sat back on his heels, taking a moment to admire her before his arms arms wound around her back to pull her against him, lips clashing against her neck again, his fingers grazing her back, pausing occasionally for this thumbs to apply a light pressure in small circles,

"Think you'd let me give you a massage? You have a lot of knots in your back." He whispered against her ear.

"You do have magic fingers." She answered him and flushed. "I mean… the knots… you're quite adept as easing them." She clarified, and he chuckled. "But perhaps later…"

"Need me to use my _magic fingers_ for other tasks?" he inquired. She placed her arms on his shoulders, linking her hands behind them and sitting back just enough to see his flirtatious smile.

"You'll make a girl lose her senses…"

"That's the idea…" he responded, and pulled her back into his embrace, lips clashing. The gentle touches turned into desperate grasps. He fell back, knees bent to keep his feet from kicking the headboard, pulling Lunafreya with him so she was straddling him. She freed him from his shirt and then grasped at his belt, pulling it from the buckle before working on the buttons. Noctis smiled at the way she tilted her head with concentration, her long fingers freeing the button and sat up a bit so she could pull on the waistband of his pants. In a moment of foresight he pulled a condom from his pant pocket before letting her pull them off him. He lifted his hips so she could slide the pants off of him, kicking them off the bed before turning his attention back to her. She was straddling him, leaning over her him and her breasts brushed against his chest. He reached with his hands, his touch making her sigh against him, mumble his name. He reached between them, pressing his thumb against her clit causing her to gasp. She muttered his name again, and he began to roll his thumb in circles in response to her request.

After a few moments Lunafreya sat back, grasping her Prince's erection and began to stroke him, smiling a bit as he moaned at her touch. She let out a disappointed whine when he removed his hand from her so he could slip the condom on, wishing she could simply feel _him_ but knowing it would carry quite the risk. He held himself in his hand to help guide her down onto him, the pair moaning as she did so. She began to roll her hips, Noctis putting this thumb where it had been, nearly driving her to the edge after a bare moment of connection. He let her rule their pace, enjoying her shyness and her attempts to ask him for direction. She arched, rolling her hips, and he wondered if _she_ wasn't the one driving _him_ from his senses. He watched her expressions, loving the lust in her eyes and the way she panted with him. Her hands were splayed on his chest to help herself balance, and he had reached up to cup her breast, his thumb toying with her nipple the same way with other thumb was driving her mad where they were connected. He thrust his hips beneath her as they moved, and knew she was close in the way she sighed and gasped, the occasional whine that made it through. Her voice shuddered when she reached her climax, and he pulled her hips closer so he could push against her as he rode out his own. After a few moments of catching their breaths she accepted to break the connection and lie beside him.

In the afterglow, rather than begin to cave to sleep, Noctis reoffered Lunafreya a back massage after reminding her how tight her muscles felt. She seemed ready to insist on sleep but reminded herself this was her first night with him in six months and sleep could wait if it meant enjoying just a bit more time with him. Noctis had settled sitting with his back against the headboard, Lunafreya nestled between his legs when he placed his hands on her shoulders and began pressing the heels of his hands and the pad of his thumb against her tense form in small circles.

"That hurt?" He asked in response to a sharp intake of breath, pausing his motions.

"A bit… but in a good way… my shoulders already feel better from just that bit." She encouraged him. Reassured by her words he continued to find and rub away the knots in her muscles, pausing occasionally to plant a kiss on her neck, or the place recently evacuated by his fingers. She remembered how long it had taken him to convince her to allow him to do this for the first time when they were teenagers. She had felt so good afterwards she had mentally kicked herself for resisting his offer of care for so long. Lesson learned, she was happy to accept his attention to her tense muscles ever since.

"I'm not sure I've ever asked… where did you learn this?" she inquired.

"Oh. Umm… after we got back home from Tenebrae and my back finished healing, we had a nurse taking care of me who used to rub my back on days I had a lot of pain. I always felt so good after I wanted her to teach me…" he trailed off a bit, feeling his cheeks heat up. "Not the manliest explanation huh?" He cleared his throat, dropping his voice an octave in an attempt to mimic the tone of his Shield, "I mean. I would battle so hard with epic gladiators that I needed to learn how to fix myself to always be ready for the next fight! _Manly_. Magic massages to triple my testosterone. " He nodded, and began to laugh in response to Lunafreya's genuine laughter.

"Necessary skill to continue being the best fighter in the Citadel?" she encouraged.

"Why else would I learn this skill?" he smirked.

"Can't imagine why." She sighed when his lips replaced his fingers on a spot low on her shoulder blade. When he was satisfied that he had helped ease all the knots in her back they settled under the blankets on their sides, Lunafreya enjoying the security she felt in his embrace. The placed the candy, player, and CD case in the drawer of the end table. Atop it Noctis had set an alarm on its quietest setting. Lunafreya reassured him she was a light sleeper and the quiet alarm would be adequate enough to rouse her, in sharp contrast to his ability to sleep through an earthquake. They exchanged whispered _I love you_ s and settled into sleep.

It was a ringtone followed by Pryna's startled yap that woke Lunafreya before an alarm. She opened her eyes with a groggy moan, shifting her stiff form as she looked over at Noctis's phone, and saw the screen light up with a quiet chime. Pryna was lying at the end of the bed, her ears perked up as she stared at her mistress as if to ask what the new sound was. She glanced at the window, and noted it was the pre-dawn hours. She grimaced; a bit concerned that Noctis would be receiving a message so early in the morning. She gripped his shoulder to give it a shake, whispering his name. When he failed to respond to her shaking she grew a bit more aggressive, leaning close to his ear to say his name louder,

"Noctis! Please… wake up." She insisted. He groaned, burying his face into the pillows,

"Alarm already?" he complained.

"No, but you're phone is lighting up and making noise. I think someone is trying to talk to you." She answered him.

"Probably just the guys." He answered dismissively, hugging the blankets tighter around his shoulders. "Lie back down until the alarm." He suggested.

"Is it normal for your friends to send you so many messages this early?"

"No." he answered, and finally began to hitch himself up. "Now that you point it out no one messages me this early." He stretched, feeling a few pops in his back before reaching over to the end table and thumbing the device on. "It was Gladio… what the hell does he want at the crack of dawn?" he mumbled.

 _G: Wake up_

 _G: I know ur asleep_

 _G: Its important get up and answer me_

 _G: Ur dad sent cor here its pretty import you need to wake up if you dont answer this im calling you_

He felt the grogginess wear away when he read Cor's name. _The Immortal? Why would my dad send him here?_ He furrowed his brow, and his thumbs quickly began to type a reply when his text was interrupted with an incoming call,

"Hey man I'm up. What's going on?" He looked at Lunafreya who mouthed _Is everything okay?_ To which he replied with a shrug and a silent _I don't know yet._

"Get your ass back to the room, been trying to wake you up for a half hour! Cor the Immortal is here."

"Why is Cor here?!" He couldn't remember the last time he had even seen the man. Despite being the Marshal of his family's Crownsguard, an encounter with him was rare. Even Gladiolus saw more of him than he did. _Man I wonder what a sparring match between those two would look like._ He couldn't help but wonder until Gladiolus's voice dragged him back to the present.

"Something about the Empire, I don't want to play middle man trying to spit out the thousand things being shouted in my ear while I'm talking to you. Just get back here okay? Nifleheim is up to something and it has to do with the wedding."

"Okay okay I'm coming." He heard a lot of chatter in the background, arguing voices.

"He says bring the Oracle with you."

"Umm... A bit easier said than done man."

"He-" the voice grew distant for a moment, "Im telling him! Back off! I can't concentrate with all of you yelling like this!... Yes… listen to Iggy!... okay okay!" The following words were much clearer, "just get back here!" Noctis put his phone down after the line was cut and met Lunafreya's concerned gaze.

"What's going on? Who's Cor?" she inquired.

"He's the marshal of our Crownsguard. I guess my dad sent him the guys are yelling at me to get back to the room." His heart was beginning to race, and he ran a now sweaty palm through his sleep-tussled hair. "Pretty sure he's not just here as a wedding guest." He slid off the bed, fetching his clothing as he hastily dressed himself. "He told me to bring you… but I'm not sure right now sneaking you around is the smartest idea." He explained, hoping she would provide a solution.

"I will simply request I be brought to your hotel room so we can meet for breakfast." She supplied. Noctis wanted to ask if the Empire would even allow her to dictate her day like that, but she seemed to know he would be apprehensive about her suggestion. "It's Ravus who's my… guardian… and besides, this is your biannual visit." _The one time I am allowed a modicum of control over my day._ She pushed back the words to the place in her mind where they came from. He seemed satisfied enough with her explanation. He finished pulling on his clothing and walked up to her,

"See you soon then?"

"See you soon."

"I love you,"

"Love you too," they exchanged smiles before meeting for a kiss. He parted from her and she watched him walk over wards the window and warp to the street below, thankful for the early hour keeping other tourists off the back streets so he could remain unnoticed. She sighed, shutting her window and the curtains afore them and mentally prepared herself for the inevitable argument with her brother when she requested to be escorted to him. Lamenting that she would once again be sleeping alone she slipped into bed, patting the bed beside her to urge Pryna to lie beside her, idly running her fingers through her soft fur.

Noctis returned to his hotel room to find Ignis in the kitchen preparing breakfast, and the smell of coffee filled the room. Prompto was fidgeting on the couch next to Gladiolus, while Cor Leonus, the infamous _The Immortal_ , marshal of his Crownsguard, sat on the edge of the bed. The group all turned when the Prince returned, Prompto leaping to his feet to run to greet him, anxious for something to do to burn off this nervous energy.

"Finally." Gladiolus commented as the Prince shut the door behind him, setting the deadbolt.

"What the hell is going on?" he was still groggy, punctuating his question with a stretch.

"Your father has sent me with a message. Where's the Oracle? He instructed me to make sure you bring her with you." The marshal inquired, arms crossed.

"She'll be here at an hour where _normal_ humans wake up. She can't just sneak off on the Empire that'll set off every alarm they have. She'll be here soon enough." Cor didn't seem pleased with his answer, but apparently decided not to argue the point, it being too late to change things.

"Your father is concerned. He suspects the wedding is a trap."

"What do you mean?" Gladiolus interrupted, but clamped his lips into a thin line with a look from the man.

"Aldercapt sent King Regis a gift _, a dowry_ , a smoky quartz crystal _for your collection_ the letter stated. Something about this gift put the King on edge, and he sent me out here to warn you."

"The King feels unsettled over a rock?" Gladuolus inquired. He nearly said _got his panties in a bunch_ but managed to find his senses first and watch his tongue.

"How should I know? I can't read his mind. He told me to come talk to his son so here I am. And it's not just the wedding. There's been… discourse in the Glaives." At this the Prince stiffened, feeling the hairs on his arms stand on end.

"My father's crystal-imbued bodyguards are pissed off? That doesn't sound good." Noctis answered, feeling his fatigue vanish. He began to shift his weight back and forth, and found his foot tapping. Prompto was pacing before the window, his own leg bouncing whenever he stood still for more than a moment.

"So we understand there is an issue. What is it that the King desires of us to do with this warning?" Ignis asked.

"Regis suggests you all leave Altissia, _before_ the wedding." Cor's gaze shifted over to the Prince, who stopped his restless motions.

"With Luna." Noctis answered him. Like hell he was going to leave her at the mercy of the Nifs again.

"There's a reason your father told me to have you bring the Oracle. But you decided to ignore me." He shot at him. Noctis let out a quick breath through his nose, biting down on his tongue to hold back the words that first came to mind, to give himself a second to provide a more reasonable reaction that wouldn't get him on the receiving end of the infamous Immortal's wrath.

"She'll be here soon." He wondered what he was going to tell her. She was so excited for this wedding. Hell, _he_ was too. This was finally their solution to how to spirit her from the Caligo's clutches. All their childish dreams of spending their days together, separated neither by distance nor time; dreams of a life where they could lie together each night, and never again wake up to an empty bed. _This is going to crush her._

"So what, we get back to the pier and just take the ferry home? Won't that raise suspicions?" Gladiolus asked, beginning to feel agitated. He didn't like how hard Cor was drumming his fingers, or the rigid way he held his shoulders. He was standing with his knees locked, back straight. He wanted to punch something. _Maybe we should do another hunt. Make up for the shitshow from Hammerhead._

"I have the royal yacht."

"That won't garner unwanted attention?" Ignis asked. "Fear of such is why the King sent us to catch a ferry at Galdin Quay." Ignis asked. His three restless friends were wondering how the advisor could remain so calm, and it was likely that his demeanor was the only reason the others were even capable of listening to Cor.

"I'm not moored at the piers. The yacht is anchored a bit off the coast, took the lifeboat to a sandbar. We'll cover the details later when the Oracle gets there."

"Her name is Luna." Noctis added, trying got keep back his bitterness. She wasn't just the damn Oracle. Cor lifted a brow at this response, and Gladiolus shot him a glare.

"When can we expect her?" he responded.

"She said she'll ask to be brought to my room so we can have breakfast. She's an early bird so…" he paused, thumbing his phone on to check the time. "An hour or so." He supplied.

"How guarded can we expect her to be?" Cor asked, concerned.

"Usually two soldiers at least. But she mentioned something about her brother, so she might be able to convince him to cut her a little slack." He doubted his words.

"Guess we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it."

"The coffee is ready." Ignis declared, cutting through the tension in the room. "The food shall be done momentarily. I will prepare an extra portion for our expected guest when she gets here. Would be cold should I make it now."

"About time, I'm starved!" Prompto cheered, glad for a distraction. He finally ceased alternating between nervous pacing, and restlessly bouncing his leg to nearly jog across the room to pile food onto a plate. Food in hand, he hopped up to sit on the counter, shoving a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

"Get off the counter!" Ignis admonished, madly gesturing at the gunman.

"What?" he complained with his mouth full. "I wanted a place to sit!"

"We have a table with two chairs and a couch. Get off the counter and sit like an adult. Honestly…" he sighed. Prompto shrugged, hopping off the counter and sat at the table, shoving a large forkful of food in his mouth, his chair vibrating as he bounced his leg. Ignis sighed, deciding it wasn't worth the fight to tell him to stop being such a child and prepared a plate for Cor while Noctis and Gladiolus helped themselves, and then fed himself once the others had their meals.

"How was the ride here?" Ignis asked the marshal, hoping to ease some of the tension in the room during their meal. Not the most talkative of men Cor kept his answers short, having little to provide about his trip to Cape Caem or the uneventful boat trip. Prompto asked Cor if he stopped in Hammerhead, hoping to talk about something besides impending doom, such as the blonde mechanic, but was disappointed that he made no such pit-stop. He was dissatisfied by the short answered the marshal provided, but the subject prompted Cor to ask the group in turn about their own trip. Gladiolus luckily spared the friends the shame of telling the Immortal about their failure during their botched first hunt. A knock at the door got Noctis checking his phone, noting three-quarters of an hour had passed and got to his feet to answer the door, sure that Lunafreya could be the only one on the other side. He opened his, his smile falling when instead he was greeted by Ravus.

"Noctis."

"Ravus."

"Gonna threaten me this morning?"

"You going to give me a reason to?"

"What do you want?" Noctis bit, balling his fist by his side.

"My sister requested to have breakfast with you." He stated without preamble. Noctis wanted to look past the large man, but he took up almost as much of the doorway as Gladiolus.

"Is she with you?" he asked.

"I'm right here Noct." Her voice called from behind her brother. He released his fist, fingers aching slightly from the tension, a knot in his shoulder easing as he relaxed his posture.

"She begged me to let her enjoy a breakfast without armed guards. The soldiers will be stationed at either end of the hall. If you give me a reason to regret that decision-"

"Ravus… please…" Lunafreya interrupted. "I have no intention of leaping out a forth story window, or engaging in wanton behavior." She provided. "Besides, you allowed me to have an unescorted lunch in the city with him, why are you being so troublesome about breakfast inside the hotel?"

"Don't make me regret this Caelum." Ravus snapped and turned, "nor you sister." He added, though his tone was much softer. "Would be hard for me convince Uldor not to have someone chained to you at all times were you to prove separating you from your guard to be a mistake."

"I assure you my only intention this morning is to eat something and spend some time with Noctis." She sighed, and Noctis couldn't help but the smirk as he pictured her rolling her eyes. He stepped away from the doorway, and she stepped into the room, flinching with a yelp as Ravus slammed the door behind her.

"That was unnecessary… you okay?" he asked, furrowing his brow at the way she immediately began to knit her fingers.

"Just startled." She answered, looking past him at the other men in the room. She stopped knitting her hands and instead wound one arm around her chest, her other palm gripping her upper arm. "Good morning." She bid politely, but remained firmly rooted just inside the threshold.

"Wanna sit at the table? Ignis made us all breakfast.

"Thank you." She followed his gesture to the small table. Prompto gave up his seat, moving instead to sit on the edge of one of the beds. Noctis moved the second chair so he was next to her rather than across, wishing she would relax.

"I have eggs, bacon, toast, potatoes… is that adequate fare for you my Lady?" Ignis inquired.

"You can call me Lunafreya… or Luna." She offered. She tried to push images of Caligo, _my Lady Lunafreya_ rolling off his tongue, from her mind. She forced herself to stop guarding her ribs, fearful of drawing attention to it. Prior to leaving her room Ravus had offered her the painkillers again, for which she was grateful, though they never sat well on an empty stomach so she was grateful for the offer of food. "Eggs, toast, and potatoes sounds lovely. Though I will pass on the bacon" She added after a few seconds.

"Bacon is awesome! Man, how can you not like bacon?" Prompto joked, "Cook her a portion and I'll eat it for her!"

"Would you like some coffee as well? I purchased some Ebony prior to leaving Insomnia. I assure you, it's the best coffee you'll ever taste." Ignis asked her, ignoring Prompto.

"I… I usually drink tea. I would quite like to try some coffee." She smiled a little, glad for Ignis skipping the necessity to defend her meal choice. The the last time she had tried coffee was a sugar and cream laden concoction her mother would occasionally drink, and sometimes let her and Ravus try sips of. She couldn't recall the taste of it. She thanked him when he placed a mug in front of her. She had hoped to be offered cream and sugar, but took a sip of the coffee in its unaltered state and was a bit surprised that despite her usual partialness to sweet things, she enjoyed the nutty flavor. "This is quite good…"

"Ugh you like it black too? I can't drink it without enough sugar to put a behemoth into diabetic shock!" it was Prompto again, and she shrugged a bit in repy.

"I usually like sweet things, but I enjoy my tea black. I suppose its not entirely shocking I would enjoy coffee thus."

"At last! Another human who can appreciate coffee!" Ignis declared with a smile. Lunafreya returned his smile.

"Noctis, did you tell… Lunafreya," Cor hesitated slightly before saying her name, "much yet?"

"You guys didn't really tell me anything when Gladiolus called." He answered and ran a hand through his hair. He had come to Altissia to marry his beloved Luna, not all this shit. Not to find out it was time to awaken the Six, to fear what the empire was about to do. To have to look in her eyes when she was told this wedding was a trap. _I won't relinquish you back to their custody. Not this time. The wedding may not happen, but I'll still free you from them._ He wanted to promise her. But how could he pull her away from the Empire? How could he do the very thing he had been failing to do, as Gladiolus had so kindly pointed out the day before. He forced himself to keep his head up as Cor repeated to her what he himself had been told. About the suspicious gift, and his coming to Altissia to warn them. He watched her shoulders fall, and the way both hands clutched the hot ceramic mug, thumbs brushing across the rim, eyes firmly locked onto the dark coffee.

"I had feared such myself." She spoke when Cor finished. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you such Noctis… I just… " _wanted to hope._

"It's alright." He assured her, and she gave him a weak smile before turning her gaze back to her drink.

"Here you are my Lady," She flinched at the sound of Ignis's voice using her title, placing a plate of food before her. "I apologize for starting you."

"It's alright." She assured him, and thanked him for the food.

"I hope you like eggs-in-the-basket." He stated. "It didn't strike me until after I started cooking that you had asked for toast." She assured him it was quite alright, and remarked how perfectly cooked the eggs were after taking a bite. She had a fondness for eggs with a runny yolk, it being a food she was rarely allowed in Tenebrae _My Princess shouldn't eat such a messy meal._ Caligo's voice echoed in her mind. She enjoyed the potatoes soaked in the yolk, and thanked him again.

"So. What now?" Noctis asked, looking up at Cor.

"We need to leave Altissia. I think our best bet is to leave in the middle of the night."

"The empire will have a field day with that, the people will think I abandoned them!" Noctis shot back. He began to rub the knee of his bad leg when a familiar tingle ran through it in response to the ache in his lower back. This dining chair was miserably uncomfortable.

"Right now your safety matters more than your reputation. But how do we get the Oracle to safety…" Cor mused, forgetting himself and slipping back into formality in regards to the young woman. She swallowed a bite of food, washing it back with a slip of coffee.

"On the way here Ravus and I discussed this very topic. As I stated previously, the wedding being a trap had been on my mind." she left the source of this apprehension aside, promising herself to tell Noctis soon it was Gentiana, or rather Shiva, who had posed this fear. But she didn't feel comfortable trusting such delicate information to the others. Before she could be prodded she continued, and told them of the plan her and Ravus had devised to get her away from the soldiers under the pretense of going for a walk.

Ravus stated he would _dispose_ of any guard who came with them, and she felt a mingle of distaste for the act with a desire for such an act of vengeance that made her ashamed of herself. It had been quite the argument, but Ravus had agreed to relinquish her to Noctis's care, with the threat of what he would to do the Lucian Prince should any harm come to her. She feared what this would mean for her brother's safety that she was to be lost while under his supervision, but he had assured her he would take care of it.

"So. When do we go? It sounds like you want to leave today?" Noctis asked.

"That would be foolish. It's Saturday. I believe after midnight Tuesday morning would be safest. Fewer tourists and people will have settled in early since they work the next day, fewer boats on the water. It'll be the least conspicuous." Cor explained.

"Then why were you so ansty for me to get my ass back to the room like we were about to run away in the next hour?" Noctis asked, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice.

"Watch your tone. Because while you're off goofing around I want to make sure we know _exactly_ what we're doing. We can't underestimate the Nifs."

"I'm not goofing around! It's not like I _expected_ you to show up with some big news that the wedding is a trap, war is on the horizon, gotta run away with my tail tucked between my legs. Last night I just found out it's time to live up to this whole Crystal's Chosen thing! I have to collect my ancestor's weapons just like my dad did, awaken the Six." Noctis felt guilty at the way Lunafreya's form slumped slightly, "I'm not shirking away from it… okay? It's just… a lot, all at once." He tried to assure her. _I won't let you down._ His old promise echoed in his mind. He had no intention of breaking it.

"Well let's get down to business."


	7. Runaway

Next chapter is up. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

It was late by the time Lunafreya managed to fall asleep. Her mind was busy running through the dark topics they were unable to avoid that day, her afternoon spent fishing with Noctis was occupied by discussing the fears Gentiana and Regis had about their wedding, their dashed hopes with his news, and everything that could go wrong in their attempts to meet at the coast in two days time to flee Altissia. Like him, she feared that the people would think she was abandoning them. She was jarred from her fragile sleep with frequent nightmares; it was for this reason she had a harder time than usual waking up when she heard a light _pink_ against her window, followed by a second, and a third just before Noctis unintentionally startled her when he phased through her window.

"Luna!" he dashed over to the bed, and she looked at him on a confused haze.

"Noct? What-"

"The Empire played their hand. Guess Cor got here just in time. Come on, I'll fill you in the details in a minute but we gotta get you outta here." He urged her, throwing her blankets off her and pulling her from the bed. She lost her balance from the sudden motion but he helped her right herself. She rubbed her wrist as she watched him run up to her wardrobe and pull it open, tilting his head at it, "Come on, grab something warm, we gotta go." He was whispering loudly, and Lunafreya wondered when she would hear the slamming of a fist against her door.

"They'll hear you."

"Doesn't matter now, there's airships on the way." She had never seen him so frantic before. She grabbed a robe from the wardrobe with a sweaty palms, trying to control the tremor in her hands, and how fast her heart was still racing from her startle. She pulled the garment on, hugging it close to chase away the chill running down her arms. Noctis ran over to the bed, pulling off her sheet and fitted sheet, knotting two of the corners together, then cursed when he realized it wouldn't serve the purpose he was aiming for. "Okay keep your voice down we'll have to run down the hall."

"Run down the… you're the one who's nearly shouting," she responded in a harsh whisper. He reached for her wrist again but she pulled her arm close to her, and he gave her a confused glance for just a moment before she nodded her head towards the door. "We best hurry." She decided to simply place her trust in him, forcing her confusion aside to contend with later. "Pryna… here girl," she called to the white dog that had been lying near the foot of her bed, ears pinned back in distress. She picked her up and nodded. They ran towards the door, Noctis taking a quick glance down each end of the hall and waved his hand at her. They ran down the length of it and made it through, praying to the Six that they were imagining the sounds of doors opening behind them. They ran down another narrow hall once they reached the ground level and Noctis nearly pushed through and exit, but Lunafreya grabbed him, pulling him back sharply,

"Stop it! You'll set off every alarm on this floor!" She pointed over his shoulder, awkwardly holding Pryna with one arm, and he followed her finger to the _Fire Door_ sign declaring in bold red letters the activation of an alarm once opened. He cursed, and made for the main lobby. The royal couple charged past the woman manning the front desk and the confused concierge who was trying to ask where the royals were off to at such an hour. Outside they found Noctis's friends and Cor Leonus waiting for them who began to urgently gesture and continued to run.

"This way, we have to make it to the yacht before the empire finds it!" Cor snapped. They made it down several streets when they could hear a distant hum, and make out the outline of approaching airships by their distinct red lights. The group collectively swore, turning sharply down a narrow flight of stairs, following Cor through the maze of streets.

"Lunafreya!" a deep voice called, and she froze in place, Noctis stopping to turn as well. Ravus was fast approaching them, Pryna whining in response to the familiar voice.

"Keep running!" Cor insisted, and the royals continued their desperate flight, but they had only made it a few dozen more meters before a yelp caught their attention. They group turned to find Lunafreya pushed up against the wall of the nearest building, Ravus clutching the front of her robe, and a Nifleheim soldier standing just behind the Commander. Lunafreya was writhing and Pryna wining by her feet. She was trying to fight her brother's grip, her hands clasped around the wrist that was holding onto the front of her robe. Noctis called forth his Engine Blade, but Gladiolus's fist wrapped around his wrist before he could swing his arm.

"Let me go Gladio! Damnit Ravus! Let go of her!" Noctis shouted.

"Please, let me go." She looked to her brother with pleading eyes. _I can't go back. I can't._

"You really want to drag her back to Caligo?" Noctis snapped, vanishing his sword so his Shield would release his wrist.

"We're low on time." Cor warned, "I can hear the airships over the city. They'll find the royal ship shortly. I don't have another way to get us out of Altissia."

"I can spirit you from the city." Ravus insisted, letting go of Lunafreya. In a single smooth motion he unsheathed his Carolingian Sword and dispatching the soldier behind him. The group watched, backing away from the unexpected action, Lunafreya gasping and clamping both hands over her mouth. "Oh settle." He said to her, struggling to control his tone. "It was a puppet." He kicked at the fallen soldier's face, knocking away the mask covering the complex MagiTek beneath it.

"Wait, MTs are real?!" Noctis balked, looking from the machine to Ravus. Prompto let out a strange squeak, Gladiolus cursed.

"They aren't just stories…" Ignis remarked. Cor maintained his silence, glancing worriedly at the sky.

"We must hurry if we're to get away from here." He reminded them. Lunafreya tried to move past her brother but he grabbed her again, pulling her back to him,

"If we hurry we can escape this place." Ravus ignored the prince and his agitated companions. All the yelling had Pryna hiding behind Lunafreya's legs, ears pinned, tail tucked between her legs.

"We don't have time for this! Let her go or come with us! You're outnumbered!" Noctis knew his yelling would draw attention, and began to flex his fingers as he looked around for more signs of those MTs.

"We both know that is impossible, please. Do not bring my back to that man." Lunafreya pleaded in a quivering voice. "I _need_ to awaken the Six. We spoke of this!" she dropped her hands in a frustrated gesture; brows knit together, breaths coming in rapid gasps.

"I can take you to them!"

"No you can't! You think an airship flying in the wrong direction won't attract attention?" Ravus cursed, tightening his grip on her robe, causing Pryna to growl and bark at the man.

"Get on that ship, and get away from this city. I'll do what I can to cover your flight." He nearly pushed her away when he released her, and pointed his sword at Noctis, "If _any_ harm comes for her, you will _pray_ for me to kill you." Before Noctis could quip back Cor had started running, Gladiolus grabbing the back of his shirt to force him to follow, Lunafreya pulling up the rear after giving her brother a fragile smile and mouthing the words _thank you_ Pryna following closely behind her. Ravus watched their retreating forms for a moment before he cleaned the oil and lubricants from his Carolingian so he could sheath it, making his back up the road, so he could feign searching for his sister that that _Crystal's Chosen_ Verstael was so desperate to get his hands on.

"Come on!" Cor snapped, growing impatient with the slow pace of his companions. The hum above their heads turned into a thrumming bass. Hot wind forced them to bring an to cover their eyes as an airship stopped above them, light up the dark alley with red light, metal clanging from all around them. The wind let up, and they were able to quint through the dust and sand swirling through the air to make out soldiers that resembled the machine that Ravus had dispatched so quickly.

"It's more of those MTs!" Gladiolus shouted above the wind. The group collectively called forth their weapons as the soldiers rushed them. Gladiolus stayed close to the prince, positioning himself between the royal pair and the advancing soldiers. The alley was too narrow for Prompto to fire his guns for fear that a ricochet or missed shot could strike one of his friends, so he stayed in the center of the group standing over a growling Pryna while complaining about how useless he felt, and promising the dog to keep her safe. Ignis was with Cor trying to keep more of the soldiers from advancing in their side of the alley, Luna and Noctis combating the ones that had dropped into the center of their path. The group was outnumbered almost two-to-one, but the narrow pathway limited this advantage.

Lunafreya lifted her trident, bending her knees to try and keep herself upright as one of the soldiers brought down their sword, catching the weapon between two of the teeth. Her arms burned as she tried to hold it back, limbs trembling with the effort. She let out a bellow as she twisted her hips, using her weight to snap the weapon's angle away from her, knocking herself off balance. The tug on the trident as the soldier tried to maintain its grip on its own weapon caused it to stagger, but it quickly righted heard her shout as she lifted her trident to defect another blow, the impact sending a wave of pain down her ribs that caused her to loosen her grip on her weapon. He shouted in an attempt to provide a momentary diversion, and threw himself at the soldier, seeing a twitch, a flash of metal, and forced himself to ignore the white hot pain that erupted in his side.

"Prompto!" she gasped, but was forced to switch her attention back to the soldier she was struggling with.

The mechanism tilted its head at her, leaning back against its palms to kick at her ankle. She leapt back, colliding with Noctis hard enough to cause them both to stagger. She brought her trident down into the chest of the mechanical man, flinching at the spray of oil that came from the impact, her breathing quickening as she remembered a soldier's fist impacting the center her own chest. She heard an electronic whine, and the red lights illuminating the slits of the mask dimmed. She wiped the warm oil away from her face, remembering the warmth of too many nosebleeds. She saw Prompto staggering back to his feet, a hand pressed against his side. But she spun around at the sound of Noctis's shout, and saw that he had been forced partially off balance, sword deflected, and the soldier was bringing his own back around for a second swing,

A flash of light ran along the pentagonal path of her shield, forcing her and Noctis to squint at the sudden brightness. The soldier's stance was staggered by the unexpected way his sword was deflected away from the Prince. Lunafreya groaned with the strain of holding the shield against the impact, letting it break the moment the sword clanged with the ground. Noctis shook away his startle, swinging his Engine Blade and felling the soldier. She turned, seeing Prompto sruggling away from another approaching soldier who had muscled its way through Cor and Ignis. He was holding a gun out before him with one hand, the other still clamped tightly to his side, making empty threats. She shifted her hold on her trident, swinging it at the back of the soldier's knees. It saw her moving, and was able to deflect her attack, the impact knocking her to the ground.

She heard Prompto shout for Noctis's Shield, and she strained to bring her trident up in time to block the MT's next blow. Her fingers went numb as metal clashed with metal, the bar of the trident striking against her chest. She grunted as she tried to push the blade away, but the machine was quicker with its small blade than she could be with the heavy trident. She shot a hand up in front of her, again shouting her shielding spell. She had little time to get her spell up and it shattered immediately upon impact. Gladiolus had apparently heard his name called, for next she knew she was again sprayed with oil and whatever other fluids filled these things as the man nearly sliced the device in half. She took his extended hand and was pulled back to her feet. He bent over, handing her back her trident,

"Thank you."

"You alright?"

"I'm fine. We need to finish these things." Gladiolus pointed over towards where Cor and Ignis were fighting,

"They just took out the last one."

"You okay Prom?" Gladolus asked as he saw Prompto limping up to them. He had a hand clamped to his side with a distressing amount of blood oozing between his fingers.

"I'll be fine." He answered, his voice strained.

"Let me help you," Lunafreya stepped towards him,

"Later, we gotta get outta here." He tried to walk past her, but he winced with every step.

"You'll move faster if you let me help you." None could argue this point and she walked up to him, ignoring the way he flinched when she held her hands to the sides of his face, standing on her toes to reach his forehead as she whispered a prayer. He couldn't help but sigh at the warmth that flowed through him. She felt him begin to relax, and when she pulled away he let go of his side. "I can't quite fix you all the way…" she lamented,

"I feel pretty good. Come on… we gotta go. I hear more of those ships." He was moving much quicker, though still clutching at his side. She lagged behind for a bare moment to pick up Pryna. She paused to appraise her surroundings to ensure that there were no more soldiers coming for them and vanished her trident. She searched for any sign of red amongst the spilling brown fluids, but was urged by the others to start running before another airship dropped a second load of soldiers onto their heads.

The small lifeboat was crowded, but bore all six passengers safety towards the royal yacht moored just deep enough into the water to avoid running aground. The large body of water surrounding the city was contained by a tall wall, forcing all vessels wanting to enter and exit Altissia to follow the same waterways. They prayed that with all flags withdrawn the black vessel would blend in with other fishing boats and ferries desperately fleeing. Cor was helming the ship, while the royal retinue were hiding inside the small cabin that could hardly comfortably hold two.

One corner of the room had a small table under which Pryna was hiding, flanked by two chairs, a bed rested in the center of the room with just enough space for a person to walk through the space between the table and the edge of the bed. Lunafreya was sitting in one chair, inspecting the bottoms of her feet, and it was then Noctis suddenly realized she was barefoot, and caught the sight of bloody prints leading from the cabin door to where she was sitting. He shifted uncomfortably in the chair across from her, wincing

"Did I make you run across Altissia barefoot?" he asked, heat rising in his cheeks as he tried to remember the rush to flee her room.

"I'm alright." She replied simply. Noctis looked over to the bed; Ignis had the first aid kit on the foot of the bed where a shirtless Prompto was sitting, having his own wound inspected by the advisor. He asked Ignis to check her feet when he was done with Prompto, ignoring her insistence that she would be alright. She curled her arms on the table and rested her head in them, her breathing beginning to slow. "Noctis, I-am-alright." She repeated when he inquired about her apparent exhaustion. "Those shields are just a bit tiresome to cast." She explained, not liking how vulnerable she felt in the small room. She had taken the chair closest to the door, but felt trapped with how many of them were crammed into the small room.

"Can I just check your feet? I mean… look at the footprints." He asked, "we have a first aid kit…" she looked up at him and gave a short nod, lacking the energy to argue. "Iggy, when you're done helping Prompto-"

"Say no more. I can assess the Lady's injuries, unless she would be more comfortable with you in which case I can simply offer my best advice." He replied. Lunafreya quietly requested that it was Noctis who would check her, stating that it was only because he was closer, and they were limited in space.

"So what the hell do we do now?" Gladiolus asked. His arms were crossed, his nails digging into his arm as he had no way to let out his restless energy with the confinement of the room preventing him from pacing to clear his thoughts. "We need to get word from Insomnia. If they attacked Altissia to get to Noct they probably pulled some shit in Insomnia too. Anyone have service?" he asked, angrily shoving his own phone back into his pocket. He received three _no_ sin response, and ran his fingers through his hair. "What about you Luna?" Gladiolus asked, hoping the use of the nickname would help ease some of her tension. She simply shook her head in response,

"I don't have one." She avoided his gaze, knowing just how odd it was for her to lack such an item.

"You don't have a phone?" he tried to watch his tone, not trying to sound accusatory. He was just surprised. "Then how did…? Nevermind…" he cut off his own question, not wanting to pry after how disastrous his previous intrusive behavior had been received. Lunafreya was glad for the subject drop, and tried not to tense when Noctis knelt in the cramped space between the bed and her chair to inspect the bottom of her foot, furrowing his brow.

"I'm sorry… I should have given you an extra moment to put on something. You're even still in your PJs… are you cold?" he asked her. She shook her head, forcing a smile,

"The only shoes provided me by the Empire are heels. I do think I am better off with smarting soles of my feet than broken ankles trying to sprint through a city of stairs in tall heels." She offered, hoping to wipe that guilty expression off his face. Noctis saw the logic in this, but still felt responsible for the state of her feet. Every step had to be agony.

"We'll have to get you some practical shoes back in Lucis. Clothes too." He asked Ignis if there was anything in the kit to clean wounds with, not having paid close attention to the care he had provided Prompto. The man handed him saline soaked guaze, frowning when her toes immediately curled and she jerked her foot away slightly, "sorry… I didn't mean to hurt you."

"No… I mean, yes… it's a touch tender, but mostly just a bit ticklish." She admitted shyly, turning her head to hide the blush on her cheeks. She forced herself to relax, and allow Noctis to finish cleansing the multiple small wounds on the bottom of her feet.

"I never really noticed before," Noctis smiled a bit at the thought.

"Well you don't exactly grab my feet at lot." She offered.

"What kinda future-husband are you, never gave your gal a footrub?" Prompto admonished, shaking his head. "Ow! Careful man…" he complained as Ignis started to apply steri-strips to the laceration on his side.

"He has a point Noct," she teased, giving him a smile to show she meant it all in jest. He smiled back at her, glad to see her acting a bit more like herself.

"Guess I have to make it up to you later. Hey Gladio… that chest at the foot of the bed, you're closer to it… can you see if we have any spare clothes in it?" he asked.

"Sure." He answered, glad for something to busy his hands with before he began to chew his fingernails off. He opened the chest and saw a couple shirts, pairs of pants, socks, jacket, and a hat neatly folded inside. "yeah, got a few things here."

"Pass 'em to me." He asked, and his Shield tossed one of each article at him. "Here Luna… they'll be huge on you but at least you'll be a little warmer." He offered.

"Thank you," He gestured to the small bathroom in the back of the cabin,

"Let me finish bandaging up your feet and you can get changed in the bathroom. It's pretty cramped, but at least you'll have a little privacy," he offered. She nodded with a smile, and let him wrap her feet in the rolled gauze Ignis handed him. He suggested she apply the socks, promising they were clean, to help hold the bandages in place. She heeded his advice, then gathered the other items handed to her so she could dress in something besides her thin nightclothes. Noctis stood with a groan, rubbing his lower back, thumbs massaging his old scar to help ease the tingling that had started to flare up from kneeling on the floor.

"I'm gonna go see if Cor has heard from anyone from Insomnia. Maybe he has service." Gladiolus stated, needing to get out of the stuffy cabin, and the deck would have space for him to pace out this nervous energy. Noctis waved him off, and dropped himself back into the chair he was sitting on. With Ignis done tending to his wound Prompto laid back across the bed, bemoaning the fact there were no Elixers on board, and Ignis remained sitting on the edge of the bed carefully packing up the first aid kit.

"Is Pryna still under the table?" Prompto asked. Noctis nodded the affirmative, and scooched back to beckon the dog out in response to the unspoken request, placing her atop the bed. She whined at first from being picked up, but made her way over to Prompto after some becoming and patting of the pillow beside him. "So what now?" he asked, idly petting the dog.

"Guess we wait for Cor to take us back to Lucis. Gladio will give us an update." Noctis answered, putting his feet up on the end of the bed in an attempt to ease the ache running down his left leg to match the burning in his back. Lunafreya emerged from the bathroom, and neither of the three men could prevent themselves from letting out a short laugh, offering fast apologies. The laughing caught Pryna's attention, who sat up with her ears upright, tail wagging. Prompto went back to scratching her, causing the dog to roll onto her side to encourage him to pet her belly, and he was more than happy to oblige.

"It's alright, I laughed a bit at myself." She assured them. The pants she wore were held in place by a belt on it's tightest notch, the bottoms rolled up so she wouldn't trip on them. The black tee-shirt came nearly to her elbows and halfway past her thighs and was large enough she placed the jacket on the bed without bothering to wear it. She held the hat in her hands, thumbing the rim of it nervously as she limped back towards the dining chair close to the door. The pant legs unfurled by the time she sat, and she gave up on any pretense of not looking completely absurd and used the rim of the socks to hold the pant legs in place. After having had time to rest she was more aware of the pain in her feet, and the onset of swelling was making walking difficult. She mirrored Noctis by elevating her feet on the bed, biting her lip to restrain a pained moan not wanting to make him feel any worse about her sorry state. She had used her palms to drink some water while in the bathroom and felt slightly better now after a drink, warmer clothing, and lifting her feet. The fatigue from her spells was beginning to wane, and it was only the throbbing in her feet keeping her from feeling almost normal again.

"Feel a little better though?" Noctis inquired, watching her fingers run along the hat, thumbs idly flicking at the material.

"Quite a bit, yes. Thank you." She jumped with a yelp, jerking away from the door as it opened, Gladiolus squeezing back into the small cabin space.

"Sorry…" he apologized, "didn't mean to scare you." He apologized quickly. "So Cor has no service either. He thinks our best bet is to hang out with the other fishing boats, then once it's dark make our way back to the Lucian coast." He explained.

"Isn't that incredibly dangerous? The Cape Caem lighthouse has been out for years, and Galdin Quay never had one to begin with. Miracle no one's ever crashed a boat…" Ignis thought aloud.

"I asked the same thing. He thinks its still less risky than catching the attention of the Nifs." He explained.

"Guess we're gonna be here a while. Hey Noct, got anything to do on this boat? Phones won't get service so no King's Knight. Got some cards?" Prompto asked, sitting up against the headboard and drawing his legs in to make room for Gladiolus to sit at the foot of the bed.

"Yeah dad usually keeps some cards lying around somewhere." Noctis answered. They checked the few drawers in the cabin and were able to find a deck. "What game?"

"How about bullshit?" Prompto quickly suggested.

"You always suggest that one and you're aweful at it!" Noctis shot back.

"I'm not quite familiar with the game." Lunafreya spoke up, placing the hat on the table.

"Oh it's easy. Okay we'll do an open-face round so you can learn. The goal of the game is to empty your hand, and you do it by trying to trick the other players," Noctis began. He dealt out the cards, "Normally you hide your cards from everyone so no one can see but we're showing so you can learn. Okay so Ignis has the Ace of Spades, so he plays first. See how he only has one Ace in his hands? He places it face down and says 'one ace'. Or he can place two cards down but say 'two aces' even though one isn't an Ace in an attempt to get rid of two cards in his hand. If you think he's lying you say bullshit."

"How will I know he's lying?" Lunafreya asked,

"Maybe he sucks at lying like Prompto, or he says two aces, but you have three in your hand, so you know its not possible." He explained. "Next would be Gladio, he has to play twos. Then Prompto threes, and so on. If you call bullshit on someone you show the cards they played. If they were lying and you caught them they have to pick up the whole pile of cards. If you call bullshit but they _weren't_ lying, then _you_ have to pick up all the cards. First person to empty all the cards in their hands wins." She nodded her understanding and Noctis shuffled the deck again, handing them out once more and they began. Her first turn Lunafreya was able to honestly play two cards, and watched a round go by. When Prompto's turn came around she could see why Noctis said he was a terrible liar. He was. The way he smirked when he played two cards was enough of a giveaway, but the fact she had paid attention to previous cards played told her his hand was impossible.

"Bullshit." She announced simply, and all eyes were on her. "What? I… I thought that's what you had to say?" she inquired, flushing and dodging everyone's gaze.

"Something weird about hearing the Oracle swear." Prompto admitted and flipped over the top two cards that proved he had tried to bluff and failed. He picked up the pile of cards, chuckling a bit. She felt her cheeks burn a little deeper, but smirked a little bit at the reaction.

"Feel that chill? I think hell just froze over." Gladiolus added, hugging his arms.

"Naw, that was the breeze of flying pigs overhead." Noctis joined in, nudging Lunafreya with his elbow giving her a smile glad to see her sporting one of her own. As the rounds continued Lunafreya's deadpan whenever she announced her plays always left the guys guessing, more than once falsely accusing her of a bluff, but never successfully catching her in one. It didn't take long for her to win the first round.

"Beginners luck!" Prompto insisted.

"You are not a very adept liar." Lunafreya countered, and the gunman narrowed his eyes at her, and demanded a rematch. It was Ignis who won the second round. The tension they all felt from their desparate flight, and the unnerving battle with the MTs faded as they continued to play. Shifting to a new game when Promto was tired of having no chance at winning. Time felt like it was passing quickly, and their games were interrupted when Cor entered the cabin to announce that they would head towards the Lucian coast.

"Need any help?" Gladiolus was the first to offer, and Cor was happy to accept his help, needing someone to help him navigate at the helm. The Shield excused himself, his friends all waving at him, and even Lunafreya managed a polite nod at him.

"I wonder what Lucis looks like. I've only seen those few postcards you've sent me." She mused.

"Wanna see pictures? I took a few on our way to Galdin Quay?"

"You managed to bring your camera?" Noctis asked. He himself had barely remembered the shirt on his back.

"Of course! Can't live without it. Lucky it didn't get damaged at all during that puppet fight." Prompto replied, and pulled the camera out of his cargo pants pocket, feeling the other pocket to ensure the lens was still there. The device beeped as he turned on the display, and scooched to the edge of the bed, wincing slightly and holding his side,

"I'm sorry I couldn't fix it completely…" Lunafreya frowned, "here… let me try again. I'm not quite so tired. Those shields are exhausting." She offered up as an excuse. She could normally heal dozens of people a day, and was kicking herself for failing to heal _one_ even if the wound was rather severe. Prompto looked unsure, but steeled himself trying to remember how warm and soothing her light had felt back in Altissia. The pain in his side faded from a burning to a strange itch as she whispered her prayer, and when she released him he looked at his side to find a pink scar there. "it may be itchy for a bit, like any scar would be." She explained.

"Hey thanks… probably would be in rough shape if it weren't for you." He met her gaze for a moment before fumbling for his camera again, "Here," he showed her the display, and began to flick through the pictures he took on the drive from Insomnia to Galdin, telling her about each picture.

"You quite like photography it seems." She commented, enjoying the pictures, longing to see all these places for herself. They were so unlike Tenebrae.

"Oh man I _love_ photography!" he answered,

"Uh oh. I don't think the Lady understands the can of worms she just opened." Ignis remarked, getting a glare from Prompto before he turned his attention back to the Oracle. She listened while he talked about his favorite shop in Insomnia, and about the different lenses and filters. She couldn't help but think of how he sounded like Noctis when he started talking about fishing and fishing gear. Prompto enjoyed talking to her about his hobby, enthused by the fact she never interrupted him or yawned or showed other signs of boredom.

"Think we can see some of these places when we get to Lucis Noct?" she turned to him, gesturing at Prompto's camera.

"I'm sure we'll see lots of places."

"Here, this is Galdin Quay, this is were we stayed right before coming to Altissia."

"It's beautiful…" she remarked. A natural coastline looked so different from the artificial canals of Altissia.

"Probably where we're headed. It's where we left the Regalia." Prompto explained.

"Probably?" Noctis asked.

"We best talk to Cor about our current coarse so we can decide what we are going to do next." Ignis suggested, standing up. "I shall go discuss with Cor and Gladio where we are headed to."

"Wherever we're going we should head straight to Insomnia. If they attacked Altissia…"

"Then they likely attacked Insomnia too." Ignis finished. "In which case heading towards Insomnia is a fools errend."

"By my father! All our people! Everyone!" Noctis snapped,

"My people too!" Ignis replied. Prompto watched his friends argued, hugging his camera close to him, Pryna wining at the sudden rise in noise. "We will figure this out. We will get to Lucis then figure out our next step. We cannot decide such things impulsively!" Noctis looked ready to argue further but let out a frustrated grunt instead, running his hands through his hair.

"I feel like a coward." He admonished. "I ran away from Altissia with my tail between my legs and now you're saying I have to avoid Insomnia?"

"You are not a coward by realizing that we cannot currently go rushing to Insomnnia." It was Lunafreya providing a response, a hand reaching out to squeeze his. "I too had to flee my people. We may be under control of Nifleheim, but the people of Tenebrae still looked to house Fleuret, and prayed for their Oracle to help them with the blight. It pains me to know they need me and I am not there, but I take solace in knowing that I am not abandoning them to fate. I merely must help them through a different path."

 _I won't let you down_

"Now you just sound like one of the heroes from your fantasy books." He teased, exchanging a smile with her. Satisfied that the tension was resolved Ignis left the cabin to consult with the two men on deck so he could better plot a course of action for their party. He returned shortly and explained Cor would drop them all off in Galdin Quay before heading to Cape Caem himself. Once in Galdin they could see if they could make contact with anyone from Insomnia in order to plot their next course.


	8. Old Friends

Bit of a long chapter. I hope you enjoy though.

* * *

They disembarked onto the pier, glad for the cover of night. Noctis half expected that reporter Dino to be camping at the bench again ready to blackmail him, and almost hoped that he was so he had an outlet for this tension inside of him. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked it, relieved to find he had a bar of service.

 _N: Dad we got out of altissia whats happening in insomnia are you okay?_

He stared at the screen hoping for an immediate response. He startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder, turning to see Ignis. His advisor suggested he sit at the bench while they each reached out to people they knew, someone was bound to answer them. Gladiolus was pacing up and down the pier, mumbling under his breath while he typed away on his phone, shoving is back into his pocket, pulling it out again, and typing.

 _N: Got luna out too were all safe me and the guys and luna even cor is fine_

He hit send, and began to nervous bounce his leg. He stopped when he felt a hand reach over and grasp his own, looking up to meet Lunafreya's gaze. Gladiolus was still pacing, Prompto and Ignis both staring down at their phones. The motor of the royal ship pulling away from the dock momentarily made any chance at conversation impossible, and they all stared down at their phones desparate for a response from someone. _Anyone_.

"Hey!" the group all looked towards the sound of the voice. Noctis leapt to his feet, hand ready to call forth his Engine Blade at a moment's notice, Lunafreya picking up Pryna , Prompto and Ignis flanking the Prince while Gladiolus stepped ahead of them all, greatsword in hand. "Whoa whoa I mean no harm!" the voice came, and the figure of a woman came down the ladder. "Look, my shit's all tucked away, I'm not gonna hurt you. I was sent here to catch a ferry to bring a letter to the Prince."

"Who are you?" Gladiolus demanded.

"Oh come on, you've been gone from Insomnia for less than a week, forgot me already?" The woman who stood under the street lamp was average height, and quite muscular for a woman. She had brown hair pulled into a messy ponytail, and the dark rims around her eyes showed she had gotten about as much sleep as the rest of them. Her palms were held up to show her peaceful intent, though the glaive hanging off her hip meant she was not unarmed.

"Wait… Crowe?" Gladiolus asked.

"He's not as dumb as he looks." She answered back. Gladiolus knew the woman mostly by name. His father Clarus spoke of the Glaives often, and Crowe stood out as the only woman amongst their ranks. He had seen her occasionally in the training rinks when he was busy beating Noctis to a pulp, enough that now that he took a good look at her he could recognize her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Didn't hear me the first time? I was sent with a letter for the Prince. Libertus himself penned it up all nice and pretty. Aren't you lucky" Noctis approached the young woman once Gladiolus let his greatsword vanish in a flash of blue,

"Any news from Insomnia?" Noctis asked.

"No, I left my phone behind to avoid being tracked too." She answered him, lifting a brow. "Why?"

"Altissia was attacked by the Nifs." She stiffened at this news, looking from Gladiolus to Noctis as if expecting an answer to come from thin air.

"Shit!" she cussed. She fished the letter out of her pocket, handing out to Noctis, "Here, maybe this will hold some answers. Libertus said it was important." Noctis took it from her, tearing it open with haste. He unfolded the paper inside,

"Is this a joke?" he asked, looking up at her, fingers tensing before curing up the paper into a ball. "Sent all the way here with a cookie recipe?"

"What?!" She reached out, grabbing the balled paper from Noctis's hand and opened it, cursing again when she saw that it indeed was nothing more than a page torn from a cookbook bearing a recipe for snickerdoodle cookies. "That son of a bitch!"

"What's going on?" Noctis asked, patience worn thin.

"Libertus had news that some of the Glaives were pretty pissed. Okay most of them are, not gonna lie. He said he had an important warning for you gave me this letter, and rushed me out of Insomnia." She paused at those last words, face lighting up. "We gotta get back."

"It seems like Libertus sent you away from Insomnia for a reason. And Noctis, we've been over this. It is not in our best interest to rush into the Empire's hands." Ignis explained, trying to keep his tone steady.

"So what should we _do_." He asked his advisor.

"Let's go back to Hammerhead, it's one of the closest fueling stops to Insomnia we may find news there."

"Noct please listen to him," Lunafreya's voice joined the conversation. Her arms were full trying to hold Pryna or she would have placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Okay we'll start with Hammerhead, but if the road is clear I want to try to get to Insomnia. We have the wall…" he added that last part halfheartedly. He knew how hard that wall was for his father to maintain. The group agreed to this plan, having no better suggestions. They found the Regalia where Ignis had parked it prior to catching the ferry, Cor clearly having either never receiving his request to bring it back to Insomnia, or having been redirected to Altissia prior to having the chance to fetch the car. Or he just ignored him, that was always a possibility.

It had taken a lot of arguing, but Ignis agreed to attempt the drive to Hammerhead in the dark, despite the threat of daemons. With Noctis's lap in the passenger seat, Ignis taking driver's, Pryna held on Lunafreya's lap as she sat sandwiched between Gladiolus and the gunman, the car ride was off to a stressful start. Crowe was following them in the motorcycle she had taken to Galdin Quay, and was grateful for the solitude of her own vehicle after how tense the royal retinue was. Hammerhead was a long ways away, and they had hardly driven ten kilometers when the first shadows were seen crawling across the road.

"Animals?" Prompto suggested hopefully.

"Doubtful. Daemons prowl the lands at night…"

"As the blight strengthens so do the daemons. It is as if they both feed off the growing darkness." Lunafreya provided, and felt Noctis's arms tense around her. "We best try to drive around them." She suggested. Ignis was reluctant to try and make the low-riding car drive off-road, but failed to see another option unless they wanted to take their chances fighting these things. He drove off the road, foot pushing on the gas and wincing at the whine of the engine as the Regalia kicked, accelerating quickly and they drove past the strange creatures.

"What were those things? They're like if you set a bowling ball on fire and painted a face on it." Prompto remarked.

"Bombs." Lunafreya answered.

"That sounds… ominous." Prompto grimaced at her response. "Know anything about them?"

"Not much." She admitted. "Just that they are elemental creatures… a village in southern Tenebrae was ravaged by a pack of hundreds them once. The fires were visible for miles." She furrowed her brows at the memories. The Empire had brought her there to try and tend to the survivors, and she would never forget how the air was stagnant with the smell of burning flesh, overpowering all else. The burns that the people came to her with. She had slept for nearly two days to recover herself after trying to heal all the injured until she simply collapsed with exhaustion. The people had demanded answers for where such a massive exodus of daemons had come from, and the Empire had no answer for them. Rather, decided to distract the people by focusing on how their Oracle came to them in their time of need.

"Luna?" She startled, turning her head to look at Noctis,

"Sorry. Tired I guess." She answered. He looked unsure, but decided not to probe her. Ignis had the car back on the road. They had managed an hour's drive before Ignis brought the car to a stop. Several meters to the left of the road was a large imposing creature, dragging a flaming axe, tailed by two of the daemons Lunafreya had identified as bombs earlier.

"That thing is a little bigger than a bomb."

"Astute observation Gladio, not sure what we would do without you." Ignis answered him. "Think we can drive past it? It's a bit off the road."

"I dunno man, that thing looks like it has a mean reach." Gladiolus answered.

"I don't think we can take it guys… so either gun it, wait here all night and hope it never notices us, or go back to Galdin Quay until the morning." Prompto suggested. "I like the idea of a sanctuary. Man… I always thought the boogyman coming out at night was just a story to scare kids. Never saw this kind of thing in Insomnia."

"Because the daemons seem to fear the light, and from what Noctis has told me Insomnia is never dark." Lunafreya answered him.

"Well we're not going back to Galdin Quay. We can make it to Hammerhead."

"We're only a quarter of the way to Hammerhead and already stopped twice. This does not bode well." Ignis countered, and voiced his agreement with Prompto that a sanctuary was a good idea.

"How do we even know sanctuaries are safe?" Gladiolus asked.

"Well nothing attacked us when we stayed at that one near Galdin Quay. Maybe those glowy runes aren't just to attract tourists?" Prompto asked, fidgeting in his seat and bouncing his leg.

"If we sit here with the car running arguing that thing is bound to notice us and introduce us to it's axe. Make a decision."

"We need to get to Insomnia!" Noctis insisted. "Gun it Iggy." The advisor sighed, gripping the steering wheel and once again accelerated the car hard enough to make it complain, ignoring the protests from the rest of the group. He could hear Crowe's motorcycle screaming as it too tried to accelerate hard. The car flashed with heat and light as flames shot overhead, all the occupants shouting and ducking their heads. Ignis swerved before forcing himself to sit up strait and try to regain control of the car.

"This is a shit show!" Gladiolus complained. But he had to admit, he was just as anxious as Noctis to get towards to Insomnia. He had yet to hear from his father or Iris, and all signs were pointing towards trouble. "What was that thing? It almost set us all on fire!"

"That wasn't the giant. That was just one of the bombs." Lunafreya supplied. "These daemons are no petty threat."

"If the flaming beach balls did _that_ what could that giant thing do?" Prompto asked, though he wasn't sure he really wanted the answer. Lunafreya explained she didn't know a terrible lot. Getting her hands on books about the daemons was nearly impossible, so she only knew from the situations she encountered as Oracle, or from she learned of Gentiana. They drove for another hour, occasionally seeing packs of daemons out in the fields, hearing whispers and growls from the trees and brush. Ignis was growing more agitated with each pack they accelerated past, wondering how long their luck would hold. He tried to implore Noctis to see reason, but only Prompto joined his side. Gladiolus and Noctis were too eager to return to their home city, and Lunafreya remained a silent observer.

They arrived at Hammerhead at the pre-dawn hours, and the occupants of the car were all too eager to scramble out of the Regalia and stretch their limbs and burn off the nervous energy from spending four hours dodging monsters and testing their luck. Even Lunafreya found that the burning and throbbing in her feet were not enough to keep her from wanting to stretch her legs. She could only pace around a little before she was forced to go back to the Regalia and sit down in the passenger seat.

"Hey," Crowe walked up to Noctis, and he turned towards her. "If we all head up to Insomnia that'll attract a hell of a lot of attention. Why don't you let me go scope it out, I'll see what's up and come back." She offered. Noctis looked ready to protest, but Ignis beat him to the quick and accepted Crowe's offer. He Ignored his Prince's attempt to argue, insisting that approaching the situation tactically was more likely to yield information than if they were barreling towards the border and were forced to flee an army of airships.

"So I'm supposed to just sit here while the Empire is probably attacking my home?" Noctis snapped,

"Yes." Ignis replied, keeping his tone level. He replied with a frustrated grunt, and began to pace around. The group found themselves unable to sit still while they waited for Crowe to return with news of the Insomnian border. Lunafreya frequently found herself returning to the Regalila when the throbbing in her feet made pacing difficult. Seeing her struggle was only making Noctis more impatient, and he frequently found himself pacing near the small Hammerhead shop where he could purchase the supplies necessary to wrap her feet with potion-soaked bandages checking the hour sign hanging on the door. It was a quarter hour past seven when Crowe returned with her assessment of the border conditions, the group anxiously meeting her as she pulled up next to the Regalia.

"There's a blockade at the bridge to the city." Crowe announced when the gang nearly ran to her, stepping off the motorcycle and holding up a hand to forestall the Prince from demanding information. "But there's a hill where you can see the city from if you're just itching to see shit for yourself. Though I don't really recommend it. There's no way we're getting through that blockade, and it's a bit of a swim so getting back is out of the question." She provided.

"Let's get going then." Noctis was quick to insist.

"Whoa hold up a sec. You can't get the car up that hill, you have to climb through some abandoned buildings."

"I can't let that stop me."

"I don't think the Oracle is really up for a hike." Crowe clarified, nodding her head in the direction of the Regalia where aforementioned woman was sitting. Noctis furrowed his brow, feeling guilty again for making her dash across a city barefoot. He _needed_ to see Insomnia, assess his home for himself. But he couldn't drag Lunafreya through the hike Crowe was mentioning.

"I can stay here, I'll be quite alright." She offered, putting on a smile to attempt to reassure him and mask her rising anxiety. "Besides, Pryna needs someone to look after her."

"If the Empire is sending airships all over the place I don't want to leave you here alone."

"I'll stay put. Already saw what those Nifs are up to, don't care to again." Crowe proposed, arms crossed. Noctis appeared hesitant but agreed with her.

"I'm sorry Luna… but… I need to see Insomnia for myself. I need to see if there's anything we can do." Noctis tried to apologize but Lunafreya held up her hand,

"I understand."

"Look I'll have my phone in my pocket, gimmie your number so we can touch base if shit goes down, will that unbunch your panties?" the Glaive suggested. Noctis bit his lip, but recited his number to her while she plugged it into the device.

"Let's get going." Gladiolus insisted after putting his own phone back into his pocket. Lunafreya took this as her cue to get out of the passenger seat, forcing a smile to prevent Noctis from apologizing to her again. He gave her a quick kiss, and they exchanged promises to stay safe, Crowe reaffirming that the future Lucian Princess would remain safe with her by her honor as a Glaive. The pair of women watched as the men departed before Lunafreya walked over to the stone wall of the Hammerhead garage to sit down.

"The store will open soon and we'll get those feet right as rain with some potion." Crowe stated sitting next to her. She saw the woman knitting her fingers together and grimaced, "hey they'll all be safe. Gladio is too bullheaded to allow anything bad to ever happen."

"It's not that. Watching your home burn is…" she sighed, and watched the Regalia vanish into the distance.

They followed the road from Hammerhead towards Insomnia, the blockade visible from a distance with airships passing over it. Ignis suggested they pull the car up near the brush and walk the rest of the way, the iconic car likely to draw attention should they pull up any closer. The friends decided to follow their tactician's advice, parking the car where it would be difficult to notice from the airships, and hoped that traffic in the area was light enough that no one would attempt to steal the Regalia. They looked for the path off to the left of the blockade that led through the abandoned building that Crowe mentioned, and found it to be guarded by Nifleheim soldiers.

"Well, this ain't gonna be easy." Gladiolus remarked. "Good exercise." He added after a moment. They were all hiding behind the remnants of a stone wall, assessing the entrance to the buildings and how visible they would be from the blockade proper.

"If we hug that wall over there we should be able to get inside without drawing additional attention. Assuming that no airships pass over our heads." Ignis offered, gesturing at another segment of the same broken wall that would provide some minimal cover. "Still won't be very easy. There are plenty of Nifs in our way."

"No turning back now. Besides, it'll be nice to get a little bit of payback for Altissia." Noctis responded. His Engine Blade appeared in his hand, forcing back thoughts that Insomnia could mirror the chaos that was Altissia. Gladiolus took point, leading the group of four along the path dictated by Ignis. They slipped through the open face of the building without catching attention and paused to reassess their surroundings again. Ignis looked up again, and saw there were far too many soldiers to continue any attempts at stealth.

"Was itching to warm up my muscles, still pretty stiff after that long drive."

"Pretty tired is more like it." Prompto rebuked, "I haven't slept yet."

"Well the faster we annihilate these puppets the faster we can get back and go to bed." Gladiolus suggested.

"Hey what'd'ya say we spice it up a bit huh? Make it more exciting to help me stay awake. Whoever kills the most puppets gets the bed in that trailer all to themselves, the loser has to sleep in the car, everyone else can share the tents." The gunman offered.

"You're on little man."

"Who you calling little?"

"Man, where's that voice coming from? I think it's a man but… I don't see one." Gladiolus answered, feigning looking around. Prompto growled and Ignis asked them to bring their attention to the task at hand, reminding them that reinforcements were likely to arrive soon if the number of airships in the sky above the blockade were any indication.

"Come on." Noctis gestured, and was the first of the group to emerge from cover, vanishing in a blur of blue before appearing with his blade through the chest of one of the soldiers, oil spraying him in the face as the high-pitched wine of offended gears and electronics continued functioning for several more seconds before the machine collapsed to the ground. Noctis removed the word, hearing the bark of Prompto's guns. Several meters away from Noctis a solider with a rifle fell from atop his perch, and it was only then the Prince saw the bullet hole in the supply crates only a couple centimeters to his left. He ducked behind the crates while he looked around for any more soldiers armed with guns, only emerging when confident the rest of the puppets were melee contenders.

Noctis warped to a soldier, remember the face of the young man who brought his fist down against Lunafreya to teach Noctis his place. He remembered all the bruises he found on her over the years. The one time she didn't notice the small drop of blood in their notebook. Of all the times she would walk with a limp, or the writing in their notebook was messy as she wrote with her right hand, trying to claim she was merely trying to learn to write with both sides. He screamed, recalling all these memories, every ounce of fury he felt over the passing years and swung his blade with enough ferocity to cut halfway through the machine's metal, kicking it hard in the chest to free his blade for another strike. He swung again, cleaving off it's arm, cursing that it fell so easily. He looked up, warping to the next one, leaving it crawling on the ground after hacking through its legs and warped to the next mask in which he saw all those faces that dared to hurt her. When they made it through the building and to the foot of the hill Prompto loudly proclaimed Noctis was the clear winner of their competition. Be he was busy dashing up the hill.

"Those bastards!" The Prince's voice carried down the hill as he stared across the water at his once proud city. The skyline was obscured by fire and smoke, the Citadel hidden behind the black and red. He could hear the distant echo of a shadow moving through the obscurity, nearly as tall as the Citadel itself.

"What the hell is that thing?" Prompto asked, Ignis and Gladiolus staring across the sea in silence.

"Ignis, what do we do? How do we take back our home from these… _bastards_." Noctis snarled. He pulled out his phone, shouting when he saw no unread messages and for a moment felt the impulse to throw it into the water, but retained the sense to shove it deep into his pocket.

"We can't take that entire city on our own Noctis. We need to go back to Hammerhead, we-" the rest of his statement was lost in the howling of the wind and roar of engines as a trio of airships passed overhead, the group covering their eyes from the dusk kicking up. Ignis was busy thumbing at his phone, and soon the voice of a reporter was buzzing out of the speakers,

 _Mixed reports of soldiers and daemons descending upon Insomnia. Citizens flee by the thousands. Prince Noctis, recently arrived in Altissia, as Nifleheim invaded the floating city is feared dead, as is the Oracle Lady Lunafreya. The former Princess of Tenebrae was to wed the Lucian Prince per the terms of a treaty with the Empire. It is reported that the King, Reglis Lucis Caelum is unaccounted for, and also feared dead. Rumors say the King's personal guard rose against him in protest of the wall and the fall of Galahad during the last Empirical invasion._

"Shut it off Ig." Noctis stated, fists balled as his side as tears stung his eyes.

"He's only unaccounted for. We can't assume the worst."

"Our home is on fire, Accordio is crawling with Nifs, they own _everything_ they finally did it! They finally stole _everything_ on the face of Eos!" He snapped at his advisor, who was shutting off the radio as it began to discuss casualties. Another burst of wind and roar of sound accompanied another wave of airships overhead, and Ignis suggesting a tactical retreat. Noctis wanted to throw his Engine Blade clear across the water and warp to his city, he wanted to destroy that towering shadow, tear apart every single puppet. He wanted to find every human soldier hiding amongst the machines and make them feel the pain he was feeling. The years of pain they made Lunafreya feel. He wanted to travel to Gralea and burn it to the ground so those damned Nifs could know what it felt like to watch your city burn.

"You're hurt." Prompto jerked him from the night his mind was trying to hide in. Noctis furrowed his brow, and looked to where his friend was pointing. He had a gash in his arm, and only then began to feel the sharp sting, or the annoying sticky feeling from the blood running down his arm. "We should get back to Hammerhead." He suggested.

"A wise idea. Let us regroup with the Lady Lunafreya, and Lady Crowe."

"I can't just let them burn Insomnia to the ground!"

"My family is in there too." Gladiolus answered him, and Noctis finally relaxed his stance.

"Iris…"

"And my father, Jared, and his grandson Talcott. I can't get through to any of them either. You think I don't want to charge in there too? It would be suicide." Noctis paused, biting down hard on his bottom lip, shaking his head as he failed to blink back the tears that stung his eyes, his voice locked in his throat with the painful lump that was hindering his breathing.

"Come on. Let's go back." He agreed.

The pair of women rested against the cool stone exterior of the garage, waiting for the royal entourage to return. Pryna was sleeping, and Crowe tapped her foot restlessly feeling agitated by the quiet. How the hell could this Oracle and her dog look so serene after the night they all just had? Well, she wasn't about to take it in stride. She reached into the inner pocket of her jacket and pulled out a simple flask. She opened the top and took a long swig, rubbing her tongue against the roof of her mouth to soothe the potent aftertaste of the rum, cursing herself for not dropping just a bit more money for the palatable brand. _Damn my frugality_. She cursed. She held out the flask towards Lunafreya who looked at her like she was holding out a frog.

"Rum. You look like you could use it." She lied. Damn girl looked like she had taken a sedative.

"I-" _don't drink_. The words came to her mind but she cut them off. "Thank you." She accepted the flask, taking a small sip, clearing her throat after swallowing it, wincing at the taste.

"Takes like paint thinner, sorry. But gets the job done." She shrugged, taking another long swig herself, and held the flask back out to her. "You are't going to drop dead from two sips." She added when she saw the girl hesitate. "Your night was even shittier than mine. You don't have to be that prim little Princess around me, I don't give enough of a damn about that shit." Lunafreya chuckled at this and accepted the flask, taking a second larger sip this time holding her composure as she expected the potent sting in her throat.

"I wonder what time this business opens. I hope the owner does not mind us loitering on his property." Lunafreya pondered, if only to continue conversation and fill the time with something other than silence.

"Didn't the Prince mentioned something about this place belonging to his dad's old friend? Just play the guilt card if anyone gives you trouble." Crowe suggested. "The hell is that?" she pointed to two figures who were limping up the road. "Must be refugees from Insomnia. Come on." Crowe wave a hand, tucking the flask back into her jacket. "Can you walk like that?"

"I made it through Altissia, I can handle a short walk to help those fleeing Insomnia." Lunafreya replied. Crowe shrugged, taking her answer at face value. She waved to the two strangers, and as they got a bit closer she squinted, "Nyx? And… holy shit." She broke into a sprint as she saw who he was with. "Your Majesty,"Crowe panted, bowing to her King.

"More of the glaives made it out of Insomnia? Good to see there were still those loyal amongst your ranks." Regis answered, then nodded his head at her. "please, stand. No need for formalities at a time like this."

"There's a garage right over there, they have a trailer. Come on… let's get you there to rest"

"Crowe?" Nyx asked. Lunafreya caught up to them with Pryna trotting beside her, and the Oracle met Regis's astonished expression,

"Luna! You… is it you?"

"Regis." She answered him, looking into his aged face, but recognizing those gentle eyes.

"You… you got out of Altissia. Then my son… Noctis…"

"Safe." She answered him quickly. "His friends too. We all got out of Altissia with the help of your friend, Cor." She looked down and saw one of his hands was wrapped in cloth, stained with blood. "You're hurt. Please, let me help you." She reached for him, but he shook his head at her with a gentle chuckle.

"So dutiful my dear, you haven't changed at all, have you? Let us get to safety first." He answered, gently blocking her hands with his uninjured one. She bit her lip, but gave him a curt nod. "Where is Noctis?"

"He… he heard news of Insomnia. He went to see for himself."

"He went back to Insomnia?!" Regis stood straighter, his good hand flexing as he quickly turned to look back over his shoulder, "we hardly got out…"

"He isn't trying to get through the blockade" Crowe quickly interjected, "there's a hill where you can see sh—" she paused, "everything going down."

"We should tell him you're safe, Noct has been worried sick." Lunafreya suggested, but Regis shook his head,

"My phone was left behind in the chaos…" Regis explained, Nyx echoing him about the loss of his own. Crowe checked her own phone, and was happy to find she had a bar of service.

 _Crowe: Get your royal ass back here yer dad is alive_

Crowe had hardly hit the send button and placed her phone back in her pocket when she felt it buzz with Noctis's reply.

 _Noctis: He got out hes safe?_

 _Crowe: yeah in one piece hes with a glaive and friend of mine get back here_

 _Noctis: on the way_

She placed the phone back in her pocket to look up at her King,

"Here, let me help you. Nyx you must be exhausted let me take over." The exhausted man was more than relieved to allow Crowe to take his place supporting Regis, rolling his shoulders and rubbing at his neck with his fingers, mumbling to himself about numb fingers and throbbing legs. Lunafreya offered to help support him on the other side but it was Crowe who reminded her about her feet, and insisted she get back to Hammerhead with the white dog and rest before hurting herself worse.

"What is wrong with your feet my dear? Is Noctis hurt too?" Regis asked, getting a shake of the head in reply.

"I'm alright, as is he. Please, let us get you two back first. I will answer any questions you have about Altissia. Sir… Nyx was it? Do you have any injuries?"

"What Regis said, let's get back first." He replied, trying to keep from curling his lip at the thought of the young woman's hands on him. After what he saw in Insomnia he had no desire to let anyone touch him with any form of magic. The group made slow progress back to the garage that was showing the first signs of activity. The garage door was open, and the lights on the small store were lit. An elderly man was seated in a tatterd lawn chair, Cindy sitting in the other one opposite a small table supporting a partially torn umbrella. The group walked up to the trailer on the side of the lot. and Crowe helped her injured King sit on the stairs, Regis groaning with the effort of trying to reach such a low perch.

"Cindy, I'm going a bit blind in my old age so I need you to clarify something for me. Is that who I think it is?" Cid ground out in a deep gravely voice. He furrowed his brow, a deep crease between his brow. The mechanic looked up at him and bit her lip, unsure if the question was rhetoric. He walked away from her, limping towards the trailer, the King's three companions stiffening at his approach, Nyx putting himself in the way of his path.

"Stand down Nyx. Cid is an old friend." Cid scoffed at this, arms crossed,

"Reggie. You got some balls." He paused, looking down at the arm Regis was clutching to his chest, the blood stained bandage leaving a dark mark on his shirt. His leg was braced, hair askew in the places that it wasn't stuck to his forehead with tried sweat. "The hell just happened in Insomnia?"

"Nifleheim finally got what they wanted." Regis replied.

"Guess that wall of yours wasn't worth sacrificing the rest of Lucis for, huh?" Regis flinched, and Lunafreya started to speak but was cut off by Regis,

"No my dear. I'm afraid Cid is correct." Both men stared each other down, Cid finally dropping his shoulders and shaking his head.

"You look awful. Come on, get outta the sun. Gets hotter than hell out here." He walked away from the Regalia, Regis and his companions following his old friend into the garage. Cindy followed her grandfather, bringing the two lawn chairs with her,

"Pawpaw?"

"Cindy, Regis. Regis, my granddaughter Cindy." He gestured at her as he paused.

"How is-"

"You ask about my daughter and I'll make you look an even sorrier sight than y'already are."

"Hey!" Nyx snapped, balling his fists as he approached Cid, ignoring Regis's plea to _leave it._ "You have any idea of the shit we just saw? We're lucky we got outta that city in one piece! And he's your _King_."

"He stopped being my King once he pulled that damn wall in closer to Insomnia. And I spent enough time runnin' 'round Lucis with his sorry ass long to earn the right to talk to him however I damn well please. Now sit your asses down before I change my mind about helping y'all." He bit back. Regis was happy to sit back down again, Nyx collapsing into the chair next to him. Lunafreya watched Cid leave and worried her bottom lip, fingers knitting together before she turned her eyes back to Regis's hand,

"Now that we're back in Hammerhead let me help you." She offered again. "Let me see," Regis frowned, letting out a long sigh before moving his injured hand away from his chest, carefully peeling back the bandage wrapped around the hand. Blood quickly welled up and began to drip on the pavement floor, Lunafreya gasping at what she saw. Regis's right hand was a mess of sinew and jagged bone fragments poking through raw flesh. His third fourth and fifth fingers were missing, as was half his index finger.

"What happened?" Lunafreya asked, but provided no pause for him to answer her as she quickly grasped the sides of his face, pressing her forehead to his as she whispered her prayer, feeling him begin to relax under her touch, heard his breath begin to slow, and the rapid pulse beneath the heels of her palms calming. Nyx reached out quickly to keep Regis from slumping out of the chair entirely as he slumped down.

"I'm alright. If I didn't collapse back in Insomnia, I'm not going to do so now." He looked down at his hand, fresh pink scar tissue knit across his hand, some skin still raw in places. Lunafreya resisted the urge to press a hand to her forehead, her previous fatigue coming back in full force.

"You don't look good, sit, don't feel like cleaning the mess if you fall and crack your head open." Crowe suggested. The Oracle nodded in answer, lowering herself to the floor to sit, Pryna anxiously walking circles around her mistress until she sat. She held up a palm and shook her head when Nyx motioned to move from his seat for her.

"You need rest more than I do, please, stay in your seat."

"Thank you Luna…" Regis nearly whispered. He flexed his thumb, what remained of his second finger pulled painfully on the still-tender scar tissue, seeing some bits of the wound were still raw and exposed, but would heal fully with time. She asked him again.

"What happened?"

"I was betrayed… by the glaives. My Shield… Clarus… he…" Regis dropped his eyes. "He fell covering me as Nyx spirited me from the Citadel. Drautos showed his hand too soon. He cut the Ring of the Lucii from my hand. The Empire has finally captured what they've longed for for countless generations. They have the Crystal and the Ring." He shook his head. _The line of Lucis has failed in our calling._

"Noctis will fulfill his calling as the Crystal's Chosen and restore the Crystal back to Lucis." Lunafreya promised him, "With the Oracle by his side. The two shall purge their star of the scourge. And if we must stop Niflehiem to do so, then so be it." She recited, and for a moment she sounded like that twelve-year-old child reading books to Noctis as they talked and played games about their roles with an innocence he wished wasn't snatched from them so young. He forced back the apologies that were swarming in his mind, knowing the petty words meant as little as any change they could bring. He would not waste his words on sentimentality when it was action alone that would provide reprieve.

"Here, unless I've gone senile you could turn this sugary nonsense into something useful." Cid's voice cut cross the room, holding out a tall blue can, several others clutched to his chest before dropping them into Nyx's lap. "Here sonny, help out your King like a good little citizen." He quipped. Regis thanked Cid, and asked if he had a first aid kid with bandages despite his reluctance to ask his old friend for anything. "Here," he held out a small red box that he rummaged from the back of a shelf, knocking over several half-filled plastic containers of oil and transmission fluid, kicking one of them clear across the garage with several curses, and muttered something inaudible about it being pointless cleaning it up if there were so few citizens with cars needing servicing.

"Now my dear, let me return the favor." Regis turned his attention to Lunafreya, sliding out of the chair with a groan and holding up his good hand to halt her protests. She forced herself to relax as he changed the energy drink into a Potion, and soaked a bandage with it. He asked her to remove the ones she had wrapped around her feet, wrapping them again with the potion-soaked gauze. She knit her fingers as he tended to her, knee locked stiff as she watched him. The potion had a pleasant cold tingle against the abrasions on her soles, exhaling through her nose.

"Thank you." She nodded to him, pulling her legs back and curling them at her side.

"Now tell me, what happened in Altissia? I must admit seeing you in one of my spare sets of clothes is quite shocking." She flushed, looking down at the baggy garments around her and wound her arms protectively around herself.

"I… We left in such a rush…" she stammered, dodging eye contact. Leaving out the bit of Noctis's presence in her room, she told Regis of his rush to spirit her from the hotel to meet his friends, and their flight from the city. She reassured him Noctis was quite fine, and that last they saw him Cor was safe as well. She was knitting her fingers again after she had finished talking, eyes downcast.

"So that trailer we saw, we should ask the old man how much to rent it." Nyx interrupted, "we're all exhausted and need some rest. Should be enough room in there for all four of us. I mean, may need to snuggle a little," Nyx added, winking at Crowe who rolled her eyes at him.

"I'll chalk that up to fatigue-induced-lunacy and pretend you didn't suggest that." She responded.

"Oh come on admit it, nice to see a familiar face." He teased back. She balled a fist and raised it, lifting her brows and giving a short nod at him, getting a laugh in response. The sound of the Regalia's engine drew their attention, Regis whispering a prayer to the Six that his son was safe.

* * *

I wanted to keep Regis alive in this fic, since he's so rarely alive in others. I think that if Luna wasn't in Insomnia Regis would have fled the throne room when attacked since he didn't have to cover her retreat. I hope you enjoyed seeing Regis reunite with Luna, Cid, and approve of how I've written Crowe and Nyx thus far.


	9. New Clothes

It's Tuesday so that means update time! Are these chapters a comfortable length? I want to make sure they aren't too long to enjoy, if so I can try to break them up a bit differently.

* * *

Noctis nearly leapt over the door in his haste to exit the Regalia when they pulled into Hammerhead when he saw that the texts he had received were correct. The heavy weight that had been churning his stomach with anxiety lifted as he saw that his father had indeed made it out of Insomnia alive. "Dad?!" Noctis ran past a confused Cindy who called out _Prince?_ as he ran by her. Prompto stopped to offer her an apology, Gladiolus and Ignis following him inside while the pair of blonds talked outside the threshold.

"Noctis, you're alright." Regis smiled, glad to have proof of Lunafreya's reassurances. He stood, Noctis rushing up to him. Any awkward anger he had from the day he left the Citadel, or the resentment he had been harboring for months was forgotten as he ran into his father's arms.

"Thank the Six you got out…"

"My dad?" Gladiolus asked, looking around for the King's Shield. Regis pulled back, feeling the color drain from his face and he feared he would fall back into the chair when his heart began racing out of control.

"He fell protecting me." Regis stated, meeting the young man's stare. Gladiolus balled his fists, clenching his jaw. He squinted for a moment, his features obscured, before he forced himself to release his burning muscles.

"That's how he'd want to go. Iris?" he asked, instantly nauseated as he said her name, bile rising to the back of his throat as his ears filled with the sound of his own pulse. Air hissed through his nose as he failed to control the rate of his breathing, eyes firmly locked with the King's.

"As far as I know she wasn't in the Citadel." He answered. "Your father died an honorable man, defending me to his last. I'm only alive because of him." Gladiolus nodded, his motions short and sharp. He bowed to Regis and left the garage, ignoring everyone's questioning glances and Ignis's attempt to reach out to grab his shoulder.

"I should follow him." Ignis stated, but made no motion to move.

"Just let him go." Noctis suggested. Ignis sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he watched Gladiolus walk away. He wondered if his uncle got out of the Citadel. When was the last time he had a conversation with the man? Did he still work the same position? He didn't even have his number in his phone it had been so long since he spoke to him. He wondered if he had now lost any chance of reconnecting to his only remaining blood.

"Luna, how's your feet?" Noctis asked, turning to where she was sitting on the floor.

"Quite a bit better actually. Your father helped bandage them after making a potion." She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but feared it looked as fake as it felt. She wanted to ask if he was alright, but knew the answer. She forced back the images of her Sylleblossum fields on fire, trees igniting. They sky filled with airships, mechanical bodies all around her, her brother screaming for Regis, the open-eyed stare of her mother's corpse. Noctis's small hand reaching for her, whatever he was trying to shout to her lost in a sea of sound. She sighed, dropping her gaze. "Thank you again for that." She directed at Regis, who simply gave her a small smile and a nod, thanking her again.

"Your hand!" Noctis gasped, only having just noticed how much blood was on his sleeve and staining his clothes. Seeing the disfigured hand bearing only a thumb and half of a forefinger. He looked at both the man's hands, and saw only the wedding band Regis had never removed after losing his wife. Regis told him what he had told Lunafreya, his son pacing angrily in the room.

"They have the Crytsal, the Ring, our home…" he mumbled angrily. "We need to get it back from them! How can we fix our star if the damned Nifs have the Crystal?!"

"Noctis please," Lunafreya's gently voice reached him, and he ceased his pacing, letting out a sharp breath though his nose, "stop. We will face this, but for now we all need to _rest_." She tried to encourage. She motioned to stand, gasping and clutching at her side with a hand before Noctis came to her, helping her stand. It took her a moment to catch her breath, giving Noctis a nod to answer the question within his frown and furrowed brow.

"Luna… are you injured. Aside from the soles of your feet I tended to?" Regis inquired. She looked past Noctis to his father, dropping her arms and bearing a small smile,

"I assure you, I'm alright"

"I remember a twelve-year-old girl in Tenebrae who would tell me she was alright were she missing an arm. That is not what I inquired." Lunafreya's smile dropped, her brows knit together as she met his questioning gaze.

"I attained some bruising to my ribs." She answered, releasing a breath through her nose to keep it from turning into a sigh.

"Attained? You make it sound like you tripped or something. It was the damned Nifs." He added the last sentence quickly, and ignored the way her lips pursed in a thin line and the crease in her brow deepened. She forced herself not to ball her fists, but the tendons in her arms betrayed her tension. "You don't have to keep pretending, and Caligo didn't even try to _pretend_ to be innocent. We need to get back at them. For everything for-"

"Noctis stop. You're going in circles." She cut him off. She had relaxed her posture and reached for him to place a hand on his shoulder with an awkward jerky movement as she tried to suppress her first instinct to cup his face with her hands and toy with his earlobes. "What we need now is rest," she held up a forefinger to forestall his reply "we can discuss plans tomorrow. Eos will not collapse to the blight because you got some sleep. We've all been awake well over a day now." She felt her Prince slouch beneath her touch, and he gave her a half-smile.

"Alright, I give." He admitted. Regis had remained quiet about Lunafreya's answer to his inquiry, accepting her dodgy answer as reluctance to discuss it, deciding he would probe Noctis about it in the morning. "So where is everyone sleeping?"

"There is a trailer on the property, why don't you take it son." Regis offered, but Noctis quickly shook his head.

"You ran away from Insomnia entirely on foot." His eyes flicked to his father's hand and to his braced leg, before his gaze returned to make eye contact. "Plus, I don't find a tent all that uncomfortable, I sleep it in all the time for overnight fishing trips." He shrugged. He thought about the comfort of an actual bed, and his fatigue began to wash over him. His eyes burned, and he began to feel the weight of keeping them open. His muscles ached, joins felt aflame. Lunafreya was swaying slightly on her feet, and he saw how dark the circles around her eyes were. His friends did not appear to be in much better shape.

The group decided that Regis would take the trailer, with Nyx sleeping on its couch the group feeling the King would be safe with him for a night if he had managed to spirit him from the very core of the Empirical attack. Crowe was also designated in the trailer under the excuse the two glaives belonged at the side of their King when Lunafreya had expressed discomfort sleeping next to a stranger when it was first suggested the two women bunk up together. Noctis was surprised to find his father put up no objections to him sharing a tent with Lunafreya. Promto and Ignis were to share the second tent, Gladiolus having quickly volunteered to sleep in the Regalia, desiring to be alone so he could have time to think.

"I wish I could do something for him." Noctis stated quietly as he watched his shield walk towards the car.

"There is naught that you can say that will console him at this time." Images again of her home aflame, her mother expressionless and caked in blood. She blinked back the memories, remembering how no words would have been able to soothe the wounds time still had yet to finish stitching together. They had decided against traveling to a sanctuary, Cid agreeing to allow them to make camp on the property after the retinue expressed their degree of fatigue. They fumbled the tents up, Noctis insisting that his father go rest, and that Nyx had done enough work and deserved to go lie down. Crowe admitted she was pretty useless at pitching a tent, her oh-so-chivalrous fellow glaives often insisting on pitching it for her during overnight outings with her comrades in arms. Who was she to pass up a free pair of hands letting her get to sleep faster? She could prove she wasn't some petty damsel in distress in the fighting ring, so her pride allowed her the affront of having the work done for her.

It was bright inside the tent despite having pitched it in the shade, and it was uncomfortably warm. Noctis lay atop his sleeping bag, Lunafreya doing the same beside him. The jacket she had been wearing since the ship was rolled and tucked under her head after she noticed how much Gladiolus's pillow smelled like sweat, the shorts she had been wearing were currently serving as a bed for Pryna. They had contemplated leaving the tent flap open for the breeze, but the heat was less uncomfortable to the Oracle than risking prying eyes. Pryna soon got up and yapped at the flap until she was let out.

"Must be too hot in here." Lunafreya shrugged.

"Hopefully she doesn't run off."

"She never goes far, don't worry. She may just be restless, and probably misses Umbra as much as I do."

"I'm sure Umbra's fine," he tried to reassure her. She sat back after resealing the tent and gave him a smile and a nod,

"I'm sure he is. Probably could smell trouble in the air and found himself a nice place to rest. He'll turn up with the notebook in time." She answered with a nod. "And you Noct?"

"Huh?"

"Are you fine?" she inquired.

"Well you _do_ seem to think I'm pretty handsome," he answered her with a cocky grin, and she rolled her eyes in answer.

"You know what I meant. But a terrible joke like that must mean you're in top form, so I suppose my question has been answered." She scooted over to her bedroll in the tent, and laid back against her rolled up jacket, giving in to the heaviness in her brow and closed her eyes.

"If the dog was too warm in here, you probably are too." He whispered to her, and she nearly jumped when she felt how close he suddenly was. His breath tickled her cheek before his lips met her ear.

"Hmm… not sure having the space-heater of a Prince I am sharing this tent with so close to me will do much for this overheating issue." She quipped back, reluctantly opening her eyes to look at him. She couldn't hold back her small smile at his flirting, though she admittedly had little energy to do something about it.

"Maybe if you took off a layer or two…" He pulled back from her to remove his own shirt.

"Aren't you tired? While I certainly enjoy the view, I do believe I'm a bit too fatigued to do anything about it." She answered back. He whined as he brought his lips against her neck, "Oh that's just not fair." She sighed, closing her eyes and following the gentle way he nudged her jawline to better access her throat, sighing against her again when he felt the hum in her throat beneath his tongue. "It's the middle of the day and we're surrounded by your friends." She whispered.

"I just want to fall asleep with a memory other than what I saw on that hill or in Altissia." He admitted. He pulled back from his attentions, leaning on his forearms. "I don't mean to pressure you"

"If I weren't fighting my own eyes to fall into oblivion I would very much so enjoy your… suggestions." She answered, the heel of her hand against one eye. He chuckled at her and sighed, fumbling to drag his bed roll and sleeping back right next to her. He pulled her flush against his chest, an arm wrapped around her waist.

"Do you feel safe?" he asked her suddenly. She opened her eyes, looking at the green fabric opposite her as she thought about his words.

"I…" she started so he wouldn't think she was ignoring him. "I don't know." She answered honestly. She knew that outside of that green fabric wasn't those mechanical abominations designed by Verstael, or their flesh counterparts which showed little more humanity towards her than the puppets. She knew Caligo wasn't pacing the halls too close for her to sleep , nor was the vague distant threat of Aldercapt hovering in the back of her mind. Her ribs began to throb when Noctis shifted an arm around her tighter, causing her to punctuate her answer with a yelp.

"Are you-"

"I'm alright." She insisted at the same time he asked the question. "Just tender, sorry."

"Sorry…" he answered her.

"I'm just tender," she repeated her lie. Her ribs were still smarting, and she pondered if they bore factures behind the bruise. She thought about rolling onto her other side to face him, but lying on them would likely be too painful to do for long. She bit her lip, knitting her brows together when she heard the change in his breathing behind her. "bring your arm back here," she twisted her shoulder to reach behind her and he grasped her hand, which she guided over her hip. "Here." His hand didn't stay on her hip for long, sliding forward slowly to her inner thigh. "N-Noct…" she whispered, turning her head but her motions were stopped when he leaned over her, nipping at her neck,

"I don't want us to fall asleep when the last thing I did was cause you pain." He answered the unasked question. "So instead…" he sucked at the skin just below her ear, and she sighed in response.

"I told… you…" her voice trailed off, losing her excuse mid-thought when he began to slide his hands higher, fingertips digging into the skin of her thigh. Her breathing hitched and she wiggled her hips to try and get his hand where she wanted it, "Your… friends…" she whispered, biting her lip and fought an annoyed whimper as he stubbornly refused to shift his fingers. "I'm too tired for your teasing." She admitted,

"Ah, showing your true colors?" he teased. "alright." He slid his fingers up, smirking when he heard her gasp and felt the way she tilted her hips to greet his touch. He rolled his fingers in small rapid circles once he found that sensitive bundle of nerves before slipping them inside of her. He nipped at the back of her neck when she arched her back, rolling her shoulder back so she could reach an arm behind her, gripping his hip. She tried to roll so she could face him, but he shifted to keep her where she was.

"Mmm… what about you?" she complained. She couldn't reach him with her back against his chest.

"Hmm…" he pondered, "switch places." He offered. It was difficult in the confined space but they managed to move so they could lie facing each other without Lunafreya lying on her injured side. Hands reached towards each other, quiet sighs filled the tend as they settled for just eachother's hands and lips the pair far too exhausted for much more. They fell asleep curled together, no longer bothered by the heat in the tent with their clothing discarded.

Pryna barking at the tent finally woke the royal pair. Lunafreya sighed as she rubbed at her eyes, surprised to see how dark it was, and that she had managed to stay asleep when she realized how cold she felt. She shifted, trying not to wake Noctis with a groan as she sat up, reaching for the discarded clothing. She dressed in the loose garments, wondering when they would have the chance to purchase some more fitting clothing. She turned to Noctis and shook her head at his sleeping form. _How can you sleep through this?_ She wondered. She reached over for the tent flap where Pryna was barking to allow her into the tent, and couldn't refrain from giggling as the dog immediately bounded over to the sleeping Prince and woke him with two paws on his chest, lapping at his face.

"Ugh! What?!" he spattered, sitting upright, pushing the dog down. "Pryna… I'm up I'm up." He complained then immediately clamped a hand over his mouth, looking towards Lunafreya with wide eyes, feeling his pulse throbbing in his ears.

"Noct settle… we're not at the hotel." She frowned at his response. He looked around them and dropped his hand, sighing.

"Sorry Pryna just startled me…" he answered her.

"We don't have to be so careful…" she mused, and Noctis wasn't sure if the comment was directed towards him. He remembered his question to her the previous night, and hoped that this was a sign that she was starting to feel more at ease.

"We should probably get up and go eat, I'm starved." Noctis commented, drawing her from wherever her thoughts were taking her. She nodded in agreement and gestured to the pile of clothes in the corner of the tent. He dressed himself before the pair left their tent, Pryna following Noctis as they looked around Hammerhead for signs of the rest of their retinue.

"Maybe the diner if they're hungry as we are." He suggested. She nodded, and followed him to Takka's where they found Noctis's friends were seated at the tabletop a plate of food in front of them.

"Hey! Decided to join the land of the living?" Prompto called when he saw them come in. "Pryna!" he called. The dog wagged her tail and ran up to him, lapping at his face when he bent down to scratch behind her ears and make very unmasculine cooing sounds.

"You guys sure slept late." Gladiolus remarked, and got elbowed in the ribs by Ignis for it.

"What time is it?"

"Seven thirty in the evening." Ignis replied. Lunafreya's brow shot up, and she looked up at Noctis while he pulled out his phone and confirmed that it was, indeed, seven-thirty in the evening.

"I've never slept so many hours in my life." She admitted.

"I won't lie… this wasn't a first for me." Noctis shyly admitted. "What time did you guys get up?"

"A half-hour ago."

"Then why are you giving me such a hard time?!" Noctis asked, crossing his arms.

"Well as future-King you should _lead_ your people by example." Gladiolus answered, sticking his finger in the air, doing a poor impersonation of the advisor's accent.

"Should a shield really leave his charge unattended to go stuff his face?" Noctis quipped back and Gladiolus paused, looking straight ahead, and quickly shoved forkful of food in his mouth. He paused his chewing and threw a glare at Prompto when he heard a distinct clicking sound.

"Hah! That look on your face, too priceless!" Gladiolus threw his fork at Prompto who successfully dodged, Pryna pinning her ears and growling at the offender. "Oh she didn't like that. Go bite him! Go bite Gladio!" Prompto pointed. The white dog instead began to wag her tail and relax her ears.

"Aw good dog, she knows who not to mess with." Gladiolus picked a piece of food off his place and dropped it onto the floor, the dog lapping it up quickly. Lunafreya smiled at her dog enjoying others' company so much as she took her seat beside Noctis on the far side of Gladiolus. All the voices caught Takka's attention who emerged from the back room, grinning at the royals.

"Aw, Pryna, I thought you and I were best friends, go bite him!" Prompto commanded again, but Pryna merely sat, her bushy tail tapping against the floor as she panted and looked up at Gladiolus, expecting another scrap of food. Noctis and Lunareya ordered their own food, the latter pleased to learn that Takka had made a fresh pot of coffee after her original queary about tea came up in the negative.

"So where's my dad and those two glaives?" Noctis asked, noting their absence.

"Oh they were the first ones up. Left the diner just as we came in. Still pretty exhausted… they went to go sleep some more. The King wanted to stay up till you finally dragged your lazy butts out of that cozy little tent until Ignis reminded him of your usual sleeping habits." Prompto answered, giving up on getting Pryna to bite Gladiolus after the dog had been given her third bite of food by the shield and were now clearly spirit brothers. "I was kinda jealous, you guys got a cuddle party with Pryna, and now she's best friends with Gladio," he complained, and pouted his lip, "traitor." He directed at the dog.

"Was a little hot for a cuddle party. Those tents aren't exactly breezy." Noctis answered, "and Pryna barked until we let her out of the tent pretty much right away. How did you guys sleep?"

"Like the dead. I was has dead with exhaustion." Prompto answered. "Still am."

"Second that." Gladiolus added

"I think we could all use a few more days off..." Ignis started, "We need those few days to plan our next steps. Lady Lunafreya, I recall you mentioning awakening the Astrals?"

"Yes… I must awaken them, and Noctis must prove his worth. But I believe he will need some of his ancestor's weapons in order to appease them. So our first step should be to assist him in such.

"So let's go talk to my dad." Noctis suggested, and stared at his half finished plate. "He'll remember where a local royal tomb is. We can go tomorrow once it's light out.

"So soon? Perhaps more days to rest." Ignis suggested. "The Lady's feet-"

"I'm quite alright." The Oracle interrupted, not wanting her condition to be used as reason to delay their venture. She would not argue with a longer reprieve, but she would not stand for being used the an excuse for such.

"I agree with Noct. I need something to do. I can't just sit here for a few days waiting to hear back from Iris. I need to go hit something. Maybe we can march through a pack of sabertusks or a behemoth or two." Gladiolus's gruff voice cut in. "Let's go request an audience with our King." Ignis tried to argue further; but it seemed that the rest of their retinue had sided with Noctis.

They continued to banter while they ate, teasing the Royals for being the laziest of the bunch having slept later than the others. Pyrna walked under the legs of the bar stools hoping for more scraps, finding some when Lunafreya shared some of her food with her. Once their meal was finished they walked to the trailer. The friends all volunteered to stay outside while royals went in to meet with Regis, gesturing for Noctis to knock at the door.

"Hey, my dad awake?" Noctis asked when Crowe opened the trailer door.

"Hey, it's the sleeping beauty! The Princess finally give you true-love's kiss and wake you from that curse-sleep?" she quipped. He rolled his eyes and inquired about his father, being invited inside in answer. Lunafreya followed him as he gestured for her to follow, carefully closing the trailer door behind her.

"Noctis, Luna. Did you both sleep well?" Regis inquired.

"Yeah, slept pretty good. You guys sleep okay?" Noctis asked, shifting his weight off his bad leg. He always felt uncomfortable starting conversations with his father with forced small talk. Lunafreya was standing beside him, her hands clasped in front of her. Regis requested for Nyx and Crowe to wait outside, allotting him some time for private conversation with his son and the Oracle.

"Please, relax. You two must be exhausted." _Is that another joke about my sleep?_ Noctis wondered. "And yes we slept well. Sleeping in this old trailer sure brought back some memories. Didn't think the old thing would still be here." Regus mused.

"Still be here?" Noctis asked,

"When I traveled around to collect my own royal arms this old trailer was still right here in Hammerhead. More comfortable than a tent." He chuckled. Noctis smiled, he used to love sitting in his father's lap as a child hearing the story of his travels across Lucis to collect seven royal arms. _Am I supposed to collect all thirteen?_

"Noctis once told me a little bit about your journey. It must have been lovely seeing all of Lucis." Lunafreya smiled.

"You should have seen her in her glory days…" Regis smiled, but it didn't touch his eyes. He looked down at his scarred hand, flexing his thumb and finger, wincing as it tugged on the scar tissue. "There were so many more cities, there was a lot more green… the animals were calmer. People used to domesticate the Garula for milk or meat. Sabertusks stayed away from people, I can't remember hearing about attacks unless some fool wandered far away from the road on his own. I even remember seeing the odd cactuar… used to be a symbol of good luck." His smile began to touch his eyes, leaning back in his chair. The hand massaging the knee on his bad leg relaxed, instead rubbing at his beard, eyes focused on something far behind Lunafreya. "There was just so much more… _life._ "

"Then the Empire." Lunafreya supplied, but Regis shook his head.

"Not just that… though I suppose in a way you are still right. After…" he paused, sighing, his hand going back to kneading the muscle above his knee, "after the empire took your mother and I returned to Lucis things just seemed to slowly change." He remembered hospitals full of blighted citizens, cities placed under quarantine. Refugees began to flock inwards towards Insomnia, leaving a trail of infection in their wake. It was during those years he was forced to draw in the wall, to protect the largest city of Lucis. He didn't want to imagine what something as virulent as the blight would look like in such a densely populated place. Like a shark to a wounded fish the Empire descended once Regis pulled in the wall, and for his sin he never forgave himself.

"I fight back the blight with all my strength." _The blight is just stronger._

"I meant no offense my dear, merely… talking. You are the only reason the blight has not taken every last citizen."

"I just wish I had been allowed to travel to Lucis to help its citizens." She lamented, and felt a hand on her shoulder. She offered Noctis a small smile, but forced back the reflex to cover his hand with her own.

"I'm quite happy to see that my son brings you joy." He observed, a smile gracing his own features, the wrinkles in his forehead relaxing. He idly massaged his leg, tapping it to try and bring back some sensation, "It was always so nice seeing the two of you play together as children." Regis reminisced. "And I'm glad he was able to make you feel more comfortable last night. You two must have maintained such a strong friendship with his visits. Was nice that he offered to share a tent with you to…" He paused, smile dropped, and his brows lifted, " _Oh._ " He halted speech, staring at the pair. After a few moments realization hit them, cheeks flushing red as they recalled their activities from the previous night.

"W-we need to collect some of the royal arms, I want to set out once it's light out. But I don't know where to start." Noctis rambled needing to switch subjects, tripping over his words as he spoke too quickly. Regis cleared his throat, pondering suggesting they follow decorum and adjust their sleeping arrangements but decided to broach that subject with them later.

"Northern Leide, the Tomb of the Wise." Regis answered. "Are you sure you wish to set out so soon, son? Perhaps a few more days to rest." _Man I hate it when my dad and Ignis are on the same page._

"If you need more time to rest before showing me the tomb we can wait." Noctis answered, chewing the corner of his lip. He began to bounce his bad leg, and Lunafreya reflected how much Noctis looked like his father in that moment. It took several minutes of debating who needed the rest more before both stubborn men agreed to make the journey through Keycatrich Trench towards the tomb the next morning. Regis couldn't help the sense of pride seeing Noctis taking some initiative, and decided that a few days with an achy leg would be worth the trek through the trench to see his son collect his first royal arm.

"I don't know how comfortable the walk to Keycatrich will be in that stuff." Noctis started, watching Lunafreya tugging up the large shorts she was wearing as they exited the trailer. "And boots that big will blister you really bad on such a long walk. Do you want to wait here tomorrow?"

"I'm not waiting anywhere. You need those arms to prove yourself to the Six, I should be with you for this." She argued,

"I don't want to see you hurting your feet again for me."

"I am sure with these thick socks rolled back down so they're doubled over will protect my feet adequately."

"And break your ankles walking through that trench in shoes twice as big as your feet?"

"I already told you I am not going anywhere."

"I ever tell you you're more stubborn than Ignis?"

"I ever tell you that you're more stubborn than my brother?"

"Hey y'all, I know s'rude to interrupt a conversation n' all, but can't help but notice the Princess here could be usin' something to wear." Cindy's voice cut into their banter, the royal pair turning towards the mechanic. "Seen y'all pullin' up those pants three times durin' that conversastion. What d'ya say I lend you somethin' that's bound to be fittin' a bit better?" she offered. Noctis tried to resist the blush at the thought of Lunafreya wearing something as minimal as Cindy's current outfit, the Oracle hesitating as she shared the same concern.

"I suppose I can make do with something that does not need to be adjusted so frequently." She admitted

reluctantly. Cindy gestured for her to follow, and she held up the waistband as she vanished into the garage after glancing at Noctis with furrowed brows, worrying her bottom lip. Ignis walked up to Noctis, tapping on the side of his head.

"What?"

"I said, I couldn't help but overhear. Is our new friend going to lend the Lady Lunafreya something more suitable for the road?"

"Something that _fits_ " Noctis clarified. "As for _suitable_ …" He wondered if Cindy even _owned_ anything that covered more than ten percent of her skin at any given moment.

"Your mind is firmly planted and the gutter and no amount of lecturing is bound to free it, am I wrong?" Ignis inquired. "One cannot blame you. She is a lovely young woman." Noctis thinned his lips, narrowing his eyes at his advisor, giving him a light punch on the arm. "Oh she's not my type." Ignis shrugged.

"What _is_ your type? Leather-bound and 800 pages?"

"Very funny." Ignis rolled his eyes.

"Not sure I've ever seen you with a girl now that I think of it." Noctis just his bottom lip, staring off into the corner of his eyes.

"And until now neither have I with you. Just because I didn't flaunt them before you does not mean I have never courted a girl." He replied, voice nearly as stiff as his posture, arms crossed before him.

"Hey guys," Prompto joined the pair, and jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "Gladio said he was gonna walk off some steam before he punched something 'till we come up with a game plan. What is the game plan? You guys kinda came outta that trailer and walked right up to the car, then Luna vanished with Cindy. Hey… maybe _that's_ why Cindy seems oblivious to my charms. I mean, who can blame her with Lady Luna," Prompto winked. Noctis quickly punched him in the arm, then threw his hands up,

"What the hell is with you guys!" he shook his head,

"This the real reason you were so nervous on the way to the wedding? Can't live up to _that_." Prompto insisted, gesturing at the garage.

"Cindy is just lending her clothes so she doesn't have to wear my dad's stuff and pull it back up all day."

"Oh guess that makes sense." Prompto paused, eyebrows shooting up, a grin breaking his features and he laughed, "Man you musta been right on board with that! Going from baggy clothes to-"

"I am going to kill you both." Noctis groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Prompto I swear I will feed you to a behemoth if you open that mouth of yours again."

"Hey I'm not saying anything! Your face says it all man!" Noctis saw Ignis and Prompto look at the garage and turned to see Cindy and Lunafreya walking back towards them. The mechanic had lent her a pair of shorts that showed off enough of her long legs to make his eyes linger a bit longer than would be proper before he looked up to meet her eyes, fighting every urge in his body not to look down at her chest. She was wearing a blue tank-top that just barely touched the top of the shorts over what appeared to be another purple tank, and he could only assume nothing beneath that.

"M-more comfortable?" he asked her, and saw the blush reach her ears as she nodded at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh… cold? Wanna borrow my jacket?" Noctis offered, and shrugged it off to pass it to her when she nodded back at him.

"Thank you again Cindy, especially for the sneakers." Noctis hadn't even noticed she was wearing more appropriate footwear. "I do believe I now can walk with you towards the Royal Tomb without argument?" she inquired. Before Noctis could answer a click caught their attention, and both turned towards Prompto who was looking at the display on his camera,

"Man what a great picture!" he chuckled.

"What? Prompto!" Noctis chided, Prompto backing away,

"Whoa hey before you kill me, check it out, you're both all smiley and stuff. Gonna make me puke… but who am I to resist taking a picture? Besides, we're probably the first people in the world to see Luna looking all non-Oracle-y. Something for the record books!"

"I-" Lunafreya began, and paused, knitting her brows as her eyes darted about. "My options are a _bit_ limited at this time."

"Hey I didn't mean it as a bad thing." He answered her, softening his voice, bouncing one leg. "Really I just like taking pictures of things. There's been lots of pictures of you looking really proper and stuff, I just thought it was neat if I could take one of you looking like… okay don't take this the wrong way, but looking like a normal girl."

"Is this what normal girls wear in Lucis?" she inquired with a slight tilt of her head.

"Uhh…" That was not the response he was expecting. "Kinda. Depends on the season. In summer sure. But back in Insomnia everyone wore darker colors. But in the other seasons these kinda clothes aren't really common. What did girls wear back in Tenebrae?"

"It's a bit colder in Tenebrae… people dressed a bit more conservatively." She answered, feeling the burning in her cheeks get even warmer. _Will I ever stop turning red every time one of Noctis's friends talks to me?_ She cleared her throat and blinked to try and gather her bearings, looking over at Noctis for a moment. "How do I look as a… 'normal girl'?" He felt like he was standing between a behemoth and a cliff. Did he say he liked seeing her in these clothes and let her imply whatever her wild imagination would, or say he prefers her in her dresses : the symbol of her oppression? _Oh hell._

"Really doesn't matter what you wear." He shrugged. He did think she looked quite beautiful in her white dresses and skirts. And he had to admit, seeing her revealing so much skin was inching his mind dangerously close to places he didn't want it to go surrounded by people. She flushed at his answer and gave him a small smile, kneading her fingers.

"You'll have to let me see you in colors other than black, let me see you looking like a normal non-Lucian man," she offered back. He chuckled at this suggestion,

"Guess it's only fair. We can do some hunts for some money and find a place to get some clothes. Do the shoes fit okay?" he asked, nodding his head at her while looking down at her feet.

"Quite the coincidence we wear the same size shoe, so they fit quite nicely. Never knew sneakers were so comfortable."

"We'll probably want to get you a pair of hiking boots too," Noctis remarked. "But we can worry about that later." They talked about the various supplies they would need for their trip, clothes, sleeping equipment, nonperishable food, and other necessities. Lunafreya turning bright red when Cindy joined the conversation and mentioned that an oil funnel, the kind used to change the oil in cars, was a lady's best friend when needing to use the bathroom with no facilities in sight. She thanked the mechanic awkwardly, and stated she was still feeling fatigued as an excuse to walk away from the group and retreat into the tent she had shared with Noctis.


	10. Tomb of the Wise

Hey guys sorry this is a day late, had a very long difficult 2 days at work and was just too tired. So here's chapter 10 a day late.

* * *

Noctis joined her in the tent some time later and was a bit surprised to find her napping after they had slept for so many hours. He hadn't intended to leave her on her own for so long, but he had grown concerned over Gladiolus. His attempt to talk to his Shield had proven fruitless, the man stating he was fine; finding solace that his father died an honorable death and was confident that Iris would reach out to him as soon as she was able. The sound of him entering the tent woke her from her fragile slumber, and she answered his apology with a smile and a dismissive wave.

"Want to watch the stars with me Noct?" She asked after a yawn. She had intended to ask him earlier but had drifted off instead.

"Oh. Yeah, sure." He answered her, realizing he hadn't taken any time to notice the sky. They left the tent together and he was pleasantly surprised to find how much it looked like the nights of Tenebrae. Insomnia was always so illuminated with city lights you were lucky to see a handful of stars in the sky. With no grass to lie on they opened the top to the Regalia and reclined the seats. Lunafreya reached across the gap and grasped his hand.

"I never thought I would get the chance to do something like this." She stated after a few moments of quiet.

"Stargaze? We did this all the time." He answered, lifting a brow and turning his head to look at her.

"No… I mean… sitting here with you, with no guard, no brother." _No fear of our affection being seen by Caligo._ "To see Lucis with you. Sit in this car you used to tell me about all the time." She rambled. The corners of her eyes crinkled as she smiled at him before turning her gaze back up to the sky. "And I don't have to give you back." She nearly whispered the words, her cheeks heating up.

"I'm not going anywhere." He assured her.

"I think I could get used to this." She found herself musing.

"Would you think I'm lazy if I fall asleep in this seat?"

"You woke me up from a nap. Would be just a _touch_ hypocritical of me." She chuckled.

"I'll call you lazy." A third voice answered. Noctis turned his head to see Gladiolus approaching the car. Noctis stiffened, feeling the hairs on his arm begin to rise. "I finally heard from Iris. She's safe." He added the second line quickly, holding up a hand to forestall his question. "Talcott and Jared too. They fled with a bunch of refugees to Lestallum. They were led by one of the glaives, Libertus."

"A glaive? One that _didn't_ turn on my dad? Why wasn't he _with_ my dad then?" Noctis sat upright, "You want to head to Lestallum?"

"What I want and what's smart are two different things. Driving to Lestallum in the dark is suicide, and if this covenant stuff will stop the blight then getting that royal arm is pretty important. I know Iris is safe… so I gotta put on my big girl panties and wait." The man was speaking quickly, shifting his weight between his legs, flexing his fingers by his waist the way he did before he summoned his sword.

"We can go there once we get back from the Tomb." Noctis suggested. "I talked to my dad we're gonna leave once it's light out so we don't get eaten by daemons. The drive back from Galdin was enough fun." He wondered if there was a tomb closer to Lestallum so they could check on Iris, then come back to Hammerhead later and the Tomb of the Wise later. He had known her since she was a baby. Hell, he remembered being shown a picture of him as a child holding the black-haired infant in his arms while his shield stood beside him looking ready to strangle him.

"Sounds like a plan."

"You look like you're about to crawl out of your own skin. Wanna beat the shit out of me, I mean _train_ me a bit, burn off some energy?" Noctis offered, his eyes flicking to his shield's bouncing leg and tapping hand.

"Sure you can handle me?"

"Bring it on big buy." Noctis got out of the car, summoning his Engine Blade while Gladiolus's sword filled his flexing fingers. They walked a bit away from the garage to avoid causing any collateral damage. Once they began the others came to watch the sparring match, with little else to do the Prince trying to fend off his Shield was proving to be better entertainment than the grainy music coming from the analogue radio on Cid's small table.

Noctis rolled his shoulder to twist himself to dodge Gladiolus's opening attack, countering by bringing the dull-edge of his Engine Blade across the man's shoulder. The Shield laughed, twisting faster than it looked like a man his size could move and finished his turn to bring his blade down on Noctis, the Prince bringing the Engine blade up to greet it with a loud clang, and the whine of grinding metal as his blade was forced into the ground. Noctis leapt back to dodge Gladiolus's rapid second blow, willing his blade to vanish and reappear in his grip in a series of blue flashes. He warped towards his shield but felt a sharp pain in his left thigh when the great sword swept his leg from under him.

"Man rusty already? Should we go back to Galdin Quay later to train up some more?"

"Was just tryin to take it easy on ya old man. Can't go breaking those fragile bones of yours." Noctis quipped back. He warped away from Gladiolus's fist rushing towards his chest in response, staggering to keep his balance on the loose sand behind the garage. The fight continued, Prompto and Ignis placing bets while Luna stood a few steps away worrying her bottom lip, hands gripping her forearms. She wondered if their _training session_ s were always this aggressive, but kept her question to herself. When the men were finished, Noctis sat on the ground panting and massaging the thigh on his bad leg, Gladiolus rolling his shoulder; Lunafreya knelt beside her Prince and offered him her light.

"That sounds like a brilliant idea." He answered her, and couldn't hold back the slight smile when her hands brushed his cheeks, her forehead warm against his. She whispered her prayer, and he sighed as his pain left him, her light felt like a hot drink on a bitter winter day. He thanked her, assuring her he felt much better. "Thanks." He smiled at her and stood, feeling like he had just woken up from a solid night's sleep.

"I'll pass." Gladiolus stated, holding up his hands to halt Lunafreya who had stood up and offered Gladiolus treatment. "I like feeling sore after a good fight. Reminds me how much worse I made the other guy feel." He winked at Noctis who gave him a rude hand gesture in reply. Lunafreya gave him a small smile and a nod. Gladiolus walked away, pulling his phone from his pocket, head down staring at the screen as he made his way to the chairs outside the trailer.

"You really wanna heal the guy who beat the crap outta your Prince?" Noctis teased, grinning at her.

"I suppose in the future I could turn petty and refuse to heal either of you." She shrugged, managing a neutral expression for long enough to make Noctis knit his brows and lift his hand to reach for her, but she laughed before he could find his voice. "I'm merely teasing you." He finally returned her smile, giving her a light shove on the shoulder.

A fresh pot of coffee gave everyone a second wind when combined with the rising dawn. Ignis lamented missing his Ebony, but was willing to agree whatever brand Taka used in his diner was still tasty. Gladiolus had passed on the drink, stating he would probably crawl out of his own skin if he had some caffeine and was anxious to get into the car and head to Keycatrich Trench. Ignis was quick to volunteer to drive.

Regis and Nyx sat at a table at Takka's diner where they had been discussing the logistics of traveling through the notoriously dangerous trench thanks to temperamental coeurls while playing a round of cards. He trusted Nyx to keep him safe, and Gladiolus had yet to fail as Noctis's shield. Which brought to mind the issue that Lunafreya should be designated a shield of her own. He knew the young woman was as stubborn and dedicated as she was as a child and would not suffer the insult of being left behind in the name of safety. He parted from Nyx explaining he had a solution to this predicament.

"Crowe, if you have a moment." Regis beckoned, approaching the glaive as she sipped her coffee at the diner counter.

"Of course your Majesty." She replied quickly with a bow of her head.

"I wish for you to be Lunafreya's Shield. She is to be my daughter, and as such falls under the protection of our family. As one of my last loyal glaives I trust you to keep her safe." Crowe coughed, thumping a fist against her chest as her eyes went wide, tears flashing in her eyes as she swallowed hard, and coughed again.

"You… want to promote me to the Oracle's _Shield_?" She asked, and her brows shot up. "Of course. I'd be honored." She added quickly, not wishing to question his orders.

"Usually there is a ceremony involved, I'm sorry to drop this on you so… informally. But circumstance is twisting my arm, and I have little time for formalities. Noctis is anxious to head to Keycatrich, and surely Luna will be as well."

"I understand your Majesty. I should find her immediately if we're setting out soon." She got up from her chair, brushing donut crumbs from her shirt and bowed to Regis, "Thank you for this opportunity." She mumbled, her voice still slightly hoarse, the effort of talking causing her to cough several more times.

"I believe she is sitting near the trailer with Noctis." Regis told her, and excused her with a nod. She bowed again, and carried her coffee mug with her as she walked across the small parking lot to where her charge was sitting and reading. Gladiolus was also nose-deep in a book, Noctis and Prompto preoccupied with their phones a series of odd chimes and shouts coming from it, echoed by the occasional curse from the gunman.

"Well now you _really_ can't get rid of me." She greeted, waving to them.

"What's up?" Gladiolus asked.

"I think I deserve a ma'am now." She tisked, tapping her chin, "as your fellow Shield I'm owed a bit more respect." She winked.

"Shield?" Gladiolus asked, jerking back slightly and knitting his brow. "Am I fired?"

"No you idiot. You have such a man-crush on the prince pretty sure you'd fight Bahamut himself to keep him safe. Naw, I'm here to watch over this one," she thumbed over at Lunafreya who tilted her head and glanced between Noctis, Gladiolus, and Crowe. "The King made me your Shield. Guess I'm at your service my Lady Lunafreya." She offered, giving her a bow with a flourish of her arms. Lunafreya stalled, unsure if the gesture was sarcastic or the brusque woman's attempt at respect.

"Luna will suffice." She corrected. "Does this mean you're my… bodyguard? For lack of a better word. Like Gladiolus is for Noctis?"

"I'm enough for the both of them." Gladiolus grunted. "Besides, these two are attached at the hip. I protect one, the other just happens to be in range of awesomeness."

"Well our _King_ saw it fit that our little Princess here he owed his family's protection." Crowe shot back, crossing her arms before her chest. "Don't think I can live up to your _awesomeness_?"

"Well guess we're about to put you to the test, heard the Trench is full of nasties."

"Guys we're going there to collect a royal arm, not to decide who has the bigger dick." Noctis interrupted. "If everyone is good and buzzed from coffee I really want to get going," he looked up at Gladiolus, "and then we can head to Lestallum. Any more news from Iris?"

"Not for a while, she was pretty exhausted and said she needed some sleep. But she's staying at the Leville with Jared and Talcott." Noctis nodded at his answer and stretched, hearing a few pops from his back and shoulders that were loud enough to make Lunafreya flinch. She stood herself, tugging on the bottom of her shirt to try and better cover her midriff. She remained quiet on the subject of leaving so soon, wishing to see everyone rest more before heading out to face more danger already, but understood the need to check on Gladiolus's sister.

"Well I am honored to have you as a Shield." She remarked, giving Crowe a small smile. The group walked over to the diner where Regis was sitting with Nyx. With Crowe's appointment as Lunafreya's shield Gladiolus felt a sudden urge of bitterness, wondering if his father had already been replaced. He bit back any questions, not wishing to show disrespect for his King, but certainly intended to have words with that braindead bruiser if he could find ten seconds he wasn't busy licking the King's boots. After a brief discussing between father and son debating setting out versus further rest it was decided that they would set out.

Ignis sat point as driver with Regis sitting in the passenger seat beside him. Noctis sat in back with Lunafreya to his right, Nyx on her other side sitting behind Regis. Gladiolus reluctantly sat behind Crowe on her motorcycle after a long argument over who would drive and who would 'ride bitch' as she was far too delighted to call it. Seeing the crowded car Prompto volunteered to stay behind in Hammerhead and help Cindy around the garage, insisting he was not offended at being left behind with the plethora of machinery around the garage to tinker with and take pictures of.

The paved section of road ended several miles away from the entrance to the trench. The ground was level enough that Ignis felt satisfied he could bring the Regalia just a bit closer, but he was less confident about the trailing motorcycle and it was decided that they should make the rest of the journey on foot. Each member of the party stubbornly insisted that they were well enough for the long walk, despite how uneven the terrain grew as they drew closer to the trench.

"What the hell are those?" Gladiolus asked, stepping ahead of the group and gesturing for them to stay behind. Crowe walked up beside him, and he turned his head quickly at her, lips thin, brows knit, but simply turned his attention back to the strange creatures a few dozen meters away and bristled when he felt Nyx approach as well.

"They look like coeurls." He remarked.

"Not like any coeurl I've ever heard of, since when do they have those things growing out their backs?" Gladiolus asked.

"Since when have you seen shit outside of Insomnia?" Nyx shot at him, and Gladiolus's fist clenched, pressed tight against his thigh, biting down on his bottom lip and shook his head. Punching the King's shield wasn't likely to go over well.

"Maybe some new cross-breed?" he answered instead.

"A coeurl getting' freaky with a behemoth?" Crowe offered, jerking her head back and knitting her brows when both men looked at her, "what? You don't see it. Seriously, and that tail?"

"The blight." A soft voice interrupted, and the three Shields turned to see Lunafreya had stepped ahead of the group. "This is mid-stage. Not quite at the stage where it grows weaker but…" she sighed, eyes flicking from the trio to the diseased animals. "soon."

"And what does a sheltered Princess like you know about it?" Nyx questioned, turning away from the expression she was giving him.

"Whoo! If looks could _kill_. Man Nyx, I think you almost set a record as the first person to ever die-by-Oracle."

"Okay fine. Assuming these things are blighted, can we get around them? Or maybe you can do something about it? You're the Oracle, right?" he turned back to Lunafreya who was standing with her limbs rigid for a moment before she relaxed her posture and sighed.

"If you would like to go give a coeurl a hug and whisper a prayer then please, show me the way. Otherwise, I do suggest we attempt to take a path around those creatures."

"So Regal, running from danger." He quipped back.

"Nyx Ulrich you will watch your tongue." A deep baritone interrupted the argument. He turned his head to the movement beside him and saw Noctis walking quickly towards Nyx, fingers flexed by his thigh.

"Apologies. I merely think the sheltered Princess is not the best to-" his voice stopped short when a palm reached his forehead, a quiet whispering voice replacing the silence left. His eyes rolled back and he slumped to the ground, garnering a collective gasp from the group.

"Oh." Lunafreya spoke, tilting her head slightly. "I merely wished to help him relax. The situation seemed to overwhelm him so he couldn't quite think clearly. I suppose I overdid it. I do apologize." Crowe's laughter followed her proclamation, the Shield giving Lunafreya a hard pat on the shoulder.

"Man remind me never to piss _you_ off. You sure _she's_ the one needing protection your Majesty?" she laughed, then quickly straitened and cleared her voice.

"Settle Crowe." Regis lifted a hand, sensing some apology or formality. He was sporting a smile of his own, and then sighed. This Nyx was no Clarus. His smile dropped and he wondered how his old friend would have felt about this adventure heading back to the ancient Lucian tombs so Noctis could echo his father's journey from so many years ago. "I do apologize Luna."

"It's quite alright. As I stated I do believe he was simply overwhelmed and lashing out." A groggy moan caught their attention and they all turned to see Nyx stirring on the ground, sitting up and rubbing at his forehead.

"The hell you do to me?" He complained.

"I do apologize. I wanted to help you relax slightly, I suppose I overdid it." Lunafreya explained. "Shall we carry on?" She inquired, looking to Regis and Noctis. The royals agreed, and much to Nyx's chagrin it was decided that avoid combat with the blighted coeurls was in their best interest. The animals were difficult contenders on their own, and they weren't sure how their bodies would react to the blight. They stayed as close as they could to the trench walls, Shields staying close to their charges as the abnormal acoustics of the trench made it difficult to tell if the surrounding sounds posed a nearby danger.

The tomb stood at the edge of the trench, and looked just like Regis remembered it. A flat dome-shaped stone structure sat in the center of the platform, a small stairway leading to closed doors where it would lead further underground. For a structure that was hundreds of years old it was surprisingly intact. Noctis stood beside his father unsure how he should feel. The structure looked so simplistic, yet it intimidated him. He shifted his weight between his legs and ran a hand through his hair to brush away the sweat from his brow, leaving his hand atop his head for a moment before letting his unruly black hair fall back in front of his eyes.

"This one is the Tomb of the Wise." Ignis broke the silence. He had been so quiet during most of the walk Nocits jumped at the sound of his voice, nearly forgetting he had joined them in the confusion of Nyx's sheer assholery. Ignis recited an old lesson Noctis vaguely remembered listening to as a teenager, and promptly forgetting. He wanted to try and remember it this time, figuring it was only right to try and retain information for once if he was going to be carrying around this weapon.

"Are you ready son?" Regis asked when Ignis was finished speaking.

"Yeah." He answered simply.

"Do you wish for me to wait outside?" Lunafreya asked. Noctis turned to her and pondered the question for a brief moment before he shook his head.

"No. The Oracle and…" he paused, the words stuck in his throat for a moment before speaking _The Crystal's Chosen_ "should do this together, right? Side-by-side?" he wrinkled his nose when referring to himself by his prophetic title, feeling awful foolish and somewhat conceited using the name. He wanted to just be Luna and Noct. Not their damned titles.

"I'll keep guard. Make sure Nyx and his comments stay outside." Crowe winked. Nyx made a sound that sounded like a growl, and he jut his bottom jaw out and thinned his lips. "Awe, you look adorable right now. Guess the _sheltered Princess's_ little relaxation trip worked. You look so rested. And devilishly handsome because of it. What _is_ your secret?" she put her hands on her hips and grinned, waving off the Royals.

"I'll wait out here too so these two don't kill each other and Ignis doesn't collapse into a black hole of irritation from all this _lack of proper decorum._ " Gladiolus stated, flourishing with his hand. Regis, Noctis, and Lunafreya walked away from the group and approached the door to the tomb. Regis stepped ahead, placing his palms against the door and pushed with the gentlest nudge, remembering how odd it felt for such a heavy stone object to move with ease. Inside the tomb was far colder than outside, but Noctis managed to keep the comment to himself.

"I haven't been to this tomb since… well. Since I was your age." Regis commented, and looked around the dark room. "It looks exactly the same."

"Can I still collect it if you still have it?" The question won out the fight in his mind amongst the hundred other questions he wanted to ask. He stopped his fidgeting when he felt thin fingers entangle within his own, forcing him to stop tapping his palm against this thigh. He looked at her and returned her fragile smile, and turned his attention back to his father who had walked to the other side of the stone carving of a man clutching a sword.

"It is not a singular object. Think of it as… an echo. When you shout into a ravine you hear your voice brought back to you more than once, but it all comes from the same one sound. These weapons are the same. I may hold the Sword of the Wise, but it is merely an echo. You my son, the blood of Lucis, must also collect your own echo." Noctis nodded, reaching his hand out and resting it above the sword. He tried to remember the lessons and the words. He wanted to ask what will it look like? Will it hurt? How will he know if he did it right? _I'm worthy. I'm worthy._ He tried to reassure himself that his ancestors would not reject him, decide that the last of the Crystal's line had been his father, rather than himself.

He felt a strange tug, similar to when he would play with magnets as a child but only it was his entire palm that felt the pulling. He forced his hand to stay where it was, and his fingers tingled. He jerked back, eyes wide when he saw a flash of blue. He followed the light and saw a sword hovering above the sarcophagus. His hand followed the magnetic-like tugging upwards, and saw the sword turn in the air. His breath began to quicken, pulse throbbing in his ears. He flinched, the blue sword moving too quickly for him to properly react. The sensation was so brief he managed not to cry out, but it was intense. It was a white-hot burning pain that flashed in his chest, the heat rolling through his limbs and vanishing as quickly as the blue light did when it impacted his body. The sound of shattering glass had him scanning the room, fearful that he had done something to damage this flawless tomb that had stood the test of time for centuries only to be harmed by his rejection. But he saw no such damage.

"Noct?" A careful voice drew him back to himself. He turned with the gentle tug on his shoulder and looked at Lunafreya, brows knit and lifted, lips thin. She reached up, hand moving to cup his cheek but she placed it on his shoulder instead. "Are you all right?" she asked. He opened his mouth but felt his voice stuck in his throat and swallowed hard, nodding as he cleared this lump.

"Yeah." He placed one hand on her shoulder, the other he looked at, flexing his fingers. "Did I do it right?" he turned to his father, whom he was surprised to see was bearing a smile. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes pulled, the laugh lines around his mouth exaggerated as he allowed himself to feel this great pride in his son.

"You did well my son. Let's go outside and see the others. And if you're anything like me, I shall not deny you the desire to call forth that Sword and show off. Though I warn you, these weapons they… drain you, when you use them. So use them wisely. The Engine Blade you have trained with for many a year should still be your first companion into battle." Noctis nodded at his father's advice, and wondered what it felt like to use a weapon that drained you. It made him reflect on watching the Glaives try to show off with double-edged swords, and how more than once the wielder landed themselves in the hospital for stitches, or worse.

Noctis led the way out of the tomb, wondering if calling the weapon was the same as summoning his Engine Blade. He wanted to ask for a moment to try summoning it in the tomb, but then wondered if that would be disrespectful to the ancestor who gave him this… _echo._ He blinked as he stepped outside, squinting and blinking hard for several seconds to adjust to the brightness of the daylight. Lunafreya and Regis were shortly behind him, and the rest of their friends approached the Royal trio.

"So?" Gladuolus asked. Noctis stepped away from the group a few paces and reached out his hand, remembering the magnetic feel, and how he would call forth his trusty blade. A flash of blue and his fingers wrapped around the hilt that felt far too cold, pulling his arm down with surprising weight before he lifted it back up to allow Gladiolus a proper look. "Ha!" Knew you could do it buddy." He walked up to Noctis, patting him roughly on the shoulders.

"Guess those lessons sunk in better than you thought." Ignis chuckled as he approached to give Noctis a congratulatory hug.

"Huh, future hubby living up to all that prophecy nonsense it seems." Crowe commented to Lunafreya, crossing her arms in front of her chest and smiling. Nyx was biting down on his lip several paces away and Crowe managed to reign in the commentary in her head to prevent herself from goading him into speaking whatever doubt was likely running through his head. Lunafreya flushed, then nodded in response.

"I'm quite proud of him." He didn't complain about the moment the sword stabbed him, or lament the difficulty in getting here for just _one_ of the weapons. He stood beside her and didn't beg to hide or run away. She smiled as she watched him swinging his blue sword a few times before vanishing it, turning down Gladiolus's offer of a sparring match to put the weapon to the test.

"Come on, we should get going." Nyx asked after a few moments. "Those weird coeurls can see better in the dark than us and the weird walls of the trench puts this place in shadow pretty early." Everyone agreed with his logic and retraced their steps through the trench back to the Regalia and drove back to Hammerhead.

"Dude! Check it out!" Prompto laughed when Noctis summoned the sword again to show it to Prompto when he had nearly charged at the car begging to see what a royal arm looked like. "That thing is so cool! Can I hold it?" he asked.

"I don't think it works like that." Noctis answered, shrugging, but tried to hold the hilt out to him nonetheless. He opened his fingers to allow Prompto to reach for it, and it vanished into blue sparks the moment the gunman's fingers touched it.

"Whoa. I barely touched the thing and it was like trying to touch an ice cube. How do you hold that thing?"

"I dunno… it's really cold but it doesn't hurt if that makes sense?" he answered. He left the sword in the astral place where it slept until he summoned it, flexing the ache from his fingers. Regis gave Noctis a hard pat on the shoulder, smiling and nodding when Noctis turned to him.

"You did good today son."

"Thanks dad. Umm. We were going to head to Lestallum today." He stated, leaving the question in the air.

"I will be staying here in Hammerhead for now. I owe Cid more than a few favors, and this old leg would only slow you down." He answered. Noctis sighed, nodding at him. He tapped his foot, shifting his weight back and forth as he watched his father walk away. He had never expected his father to join him on his journey for his royal arms, but he couldn't shake his unease at leaving him behind. He watched Nyx follow his father, and suddenly remembered the words he had said to Drautos when he left Insomnia, choking back the request to keep his dad safe and instead settled for silence.

"We should get going, it's a long drive to Lestallum and as we saw night sucks." Noctis suggested. Gladiolus was quick to agree, pulling his phone from his pocket to glance at the empty screen and shove it back into his pocket. Ignis inspected the trunk of the Regalia to assure himself all their camping gear was there, having Gladiolus perform his own assessment as a double-check. Lunafreya made a brief stop in the garage to ask Cindy if she could borrow the clothing she was wearing for an extended time, Prompto following her to bid the mechanic goodbye.

"Everybody prepared to depart?" Ignis asked once they regrouped by the car, getting multiple affirmatives.

"While sitting on the big guy's lap would no doubt be fun, I think I'll follow with the bike." Crowe commented. "I'm a badass mage from a distance anyway, I'd probably only blow the car up if I sat with you guys and needed to defend Luna." She paused momentarily before saying her name, having debated using her title but remembering being corrected and while it felt awkward to be so informal with her charge, wanted to respect her preference. Ignis smiled as he started the car, settling into the driver's seat as he adjusted his mirrors despite the fact no one had touched them since arriving back in Hammerhead. Crowe whooped when she started the bike, proclaiming the machine her new best friend.

Regis watched from the tattered lawn furniture outside the garage as his son and his retinue departed, sighing and bouncing his bad leg to get the feeling back into it, hearing the familiar jostling of the metal brace, his fingers massaging the muscle just above the knee. Cid groaned as he sat down in the seat next to his old friend, cursing how low it was. He followed Regis's gaze, watching the Regalia vanish into the distance, remembering the feel of sitting in that driver's seat.

"If your son is anything like you, the Astrals help them."

* * *

Okay so I know Nyx seems like a LOT more of an asshole here than in Kingsglaive, but what I'm going for more is he fully believes in the rumors of Noctis having a reputation as a lazy Prince who dodges his role, and thinks of Luna as just a sheltered Princess since remember, no one really knows about her abuse. He also holds resentment against Lucis for what happened to Galahad. So I'm not just making him a dick because I ship Luna/Noct, there's a reason behind his behavior and yes I have a plan for him beyond angry-guy. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and my interpretation of the collection of Royal Arms. Let me know what you think :)


	11. Fireball

I should probably change my update days to Wednesdays considering that's my one consistent day off.

* * *

The air in the dark tunnel had felt cooler, so the sudden heat of Lestallum felt oppressive. Prompto whined that it had to be twenty degrees hotter than in Leide. Lunafreya was sitting in the seat closest to the window and looked through it at the landscape. The area was lush, and she imagined that there must be lots of rain to come with this heat leading to such an _alive_ looking region. She remembered the desert-like area around Hammerhead and the blighted coeurls, and wondered if this lush landscape meant that the blight wasn't quite as strong.

"Is this what cities look like in Lucis?" she asked, turning to her companions.

"Once upon a time." Crowe answered.

"Insomnia is so huge makes this place look like a rest stop, and it's the biggest city outside of it." Noctis added. Lunafreya nodded. She had never visited cities, perhaps her captors too concerned it would be difficult to maintain their grip on her in such a populated place should they decide to free their Oracle. _No_. She thought to herself, _they could drop me in the middle of Insomnia and still hold their grip._ She knew that it was the blight they couldn't control, and even her powers were no match for the epidemics cursing the cities across the sea. Only Altissia's strict border controls kept the disease from plaguing them.

"I wonder what Lucis looked like before the Nifs." Noctis mused. "I mean, Insomnia couldn't have been the only city in the entire country. Wonder if Lestallum would have eventually become huge."

"The glaives used to tell me stories about the big cities in Galahad." Gladiolus's voice joined in. "They said the cities weren't quite as Insomnia, but 'insert my dick is bigger than your dick' city comparison joke here" the comment had Nocits musing if Crowe deep down held the same resentment towards his family as the traitorous Glaives for what happened to Galahad, and was glad the new Shield was following the Regalia separately.

"After we visit… Iris, was it? I would like to stop by the hospital should this city have one. You mentioned she came with a lot of refugees, there may be many injured I could assist." Lunafreya requested.

"I think with the way we ran away from the Empire, I believe it prudent to keep our identities more secret." Ignis answered her.

"With this oh-so-incognito car?" Gladiolus asked, "I mean, this car is freakin' awesome, you think the average citizen can afford a thing like this?"

"This car is older than my dad. Just looks like we took good care of an old car."

Noctis and his shield requested to be dropped off at the front of the Leville while Ignis searched for parking. Lunafreya followed Noctis, and the three Shields staying with their charges. Ignis assured them that he was a big boy and perfectly capable of walking to the hotel, understanding their urgency to see Iris. Gladiolus was taping at his phone as the group entered the lobby, assuring the man at the door they were merely meeting with someone as they all sat down.

"She still sleeping?" Noctis asked.

"Not all of us prefer to coma. She's up, will be down in a minute." Noctis ignored the jab and nodded. Lunafreya sat beside him, her hands folded in her lap as she kneaded her fingers. She was greatly relieved to know that Gladiolus's sister was safe, as well as the other two individuals that were mentioned. She wondered what her own brother was doing at this time, and lamented her lack of a phone with which she could reach out to him. She couldn't even borrow Noctis's phone for such a purpose, never being allowed near any method of external communication she had never memorized his number. She made a mental note to find a radio later to seek out news about her brother. Surely if anything happened to Nifleheim's Commander news of such would spread.

Ignis entered the hotel lobby a few minutes after the rest of them and sat down in one of the chairs provided. Noctis had gotten up and began to pace, while Gladiolus mirrored him closer to the elevators. Prompto was bouncing his leg, attempting to play on his phone as a distraction but with his friends too antsy to play with him he put the device back in his pocket and fiddled with his camera instead. Crowe was sitting to Lunafreya's left, also clearly agitated by the air of nervous energy.

"Gladdy!" A young voice jarred Lunafreya from her thoughts, leaping to her feet and looking in the direction of the sudden sound. A teenaged girl with jet-black hair was running off the elevator towards her brother.

"Iris!" Gladiolus pulled her tight into his arms. "I was so damn worried." He told her.

"Oh come on, I'm _your_ sister, I had to escape Insomnia else you'd come barging into the city tearing the buildings apart until you could get my butt to safety."

"Damn right. You said Jared and Talcott are safe too?" Iris nodded, "I haven't been able to get in touch with anyone else yet. Any word from dad? I heard things at the Citadel were really bad…" She looked up at him with knit brows, tapping her palm against her thigh. Gladiolus bit down on his lip, reaching up to grip her shoulders, his fingers digging into her skin. He dodged her gaze, shaking his head. "Dad… he fell in battle protecting our King."

"Dad…" she whimpered. Her lip quivered, and she closed her eyes tight. She bit down on her lip to steady herself, chest heaving with rapid breaths as she shook her head. She leaned against her brother who hugged her tight, squinting his own eyes.

"He went out like a Shield, our King is safe because of him. It's how he'd want to go."

"I was so scared for you when the news started talking about Altissia. Then we heard an explosion from the Citadel." Iris replied. "Both you and dad… I thought I was alone." She swallowed hard, biting down on her lip again. Her arms tensed and she took in a deep breath, letting out a slow shuddered sigh. "Gladdy… the Empire… the stuff they said on the radio."

"I'm fine, so is Noctis." She pulled back from him and he tilted his head and Iris managed a weak smile at seeing him. Noctis met her eyes and stood, walking up to her. He welcomed her into his arms, hugging her tight,

"So glad you're safe."

"You too."

"Your dad… I…" he hesitated at the quiver in his voice wondering what the hell he could even say. "I can't thank him so I'll thank you." The choked sob she tried to muffle in his shirt brought a lump to his throat. He let her cry against his chest until she began to pull away, running the back of her hand under her nose.

"At least you and Gladdy are safe." She offered.

"Why don't you guys go get some lunch, I want to check on Jared and Talcott." Gladiolus stated. Noctis nodded, understanding the subtext to his words. Ignis stood and gave Iris a hug, letting silence speak for him, Iris giving him a forced smile and an appreciative nod. Prompto walked up to her as well with a hug,

"Hey what if I go buy you a big stuffed chocobo in town?" he offered. He knew there were no words he could offer her to ease this pain, but couldn't endure polite silence like Ignis either. She giggled at the offer and smiled,

"As long as you get a cactuar for Talcott. He loves those things."

"It's a deal. How's he holding up?" She shrugged, and he nodded at her meaning.

Lunafreya knit her fingers together watching the exchanges. She wanted to offer the girl some form of comfort. Whether with words, or her light; but for once it felt intrusive were she to step forward. She was surrounded by ones she loved and she was a stranger. _The Oracle_ an obscure holy figure from a foreign land. But it went against her very nature to see pain and do little to ease it. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Noctis.

"I'm glad you're all safe." Iris remarked, and waved to them before turning to follow her brother into the elevator. Noctis gestured towards the door, and she followed him after waiting several seconds to watch the elevator doors close.

"I'm happy his sister is safe." She stated simply. "Though I wish I could offer her some comfort. I suppose there's little I could offer. I used to bring words to those who came for healing in Tenebrae."

"I think what's best for her at the moment is to let her be alone with Gladio."

"You're right."

"Come on, let's go get lunch like he suggested and I think I overheard Prompto promising to get her a chocobo plush and a cactuar for Talcott." She gave him a small smile and a nod, following him out of the Leville.

"So minor complication." Prompto noted. "Anyone manage to run away from Altissia with any gil? I mean, I had some in my pants pockets by coincidence, but I don't think I can feed five people with it." He looked at the coins in his pocket and tisked, stuffing it back it. "May have to go on a hunt just to get enough to eat."

"Pauper Prince. Sounds like a childrens book." Crowe commented, getting a heated look from said man. "I'm kidding! Lighten up. Come on, hunters tend to cluster in diners. It's like some movie-trope… only, you know… real." She commented.

"Wait, we're really going to do a hunt?" Prompto complained.

"Unless you propose another idea to make money, I do believe your joke-turned-plan is our only option." Ignis answered him. Prompto groaned,

"But I'm starving! How do you propose we fight on an empty stomach?"

"I'm all for stealing." Crowe offered with a shrug, immediately proclaiming it was a joke at the look Ignis was giving her. "Man, I thought Luna here was the champion of death-by-glare. Looks like we have a new winner!"

"Why don't we check out the street vendors? Think I saw a few. Usually cart food is pretty cheap, we can see if we can scrape enough change, e at up, then go find a way to earn some money?" Noctis suggested as compromise.

"Oh. Good idea." Prompto declared, and re-counted his money. "Might be enough." They found a cart selling skewers and Prompto had enough money for four, leaving the gunman frowning.

"A free sample then, for our Oracle." He smiled at the blonde woman in their party, who immediately looked at Noctis,

"She gets that a lot." He shrugged. "Just… a convincing doppleganger." He saw the way she stiffened and tried to force a smile.

"I'm quite all right." She insisted. "Still full from breakfast. I can wait until lunch."

"It's alright miss, you can still have the free sample." The vendor smile at her, "for reminding me of our Oracle. I still pray to the Astrals she made it out of Altissia in one piece. I don't trust the garbage the Empire is spewing anyway." The man mused.

"Thank you, but I'm all right."

"Awe come on, you're so damn skinny, eat something." Lunafreya knit her brows and flushed.

"I…" she paused, "I just don't like to eat meat. Other than seafood…" she felt uncomfortable with all the pairs of eyes on her.

"Huh, guess that makes sense." Crowe cut off the silence before it could settle. "Now that I think of it, I can't really picture you eating dead butchered animals."

"Ugh thanks for the vivid imagery. Think you just turned me vegetarian." Prompto complained. "Let me have my illusions! Pretend the deliciousness is just… _food_."

"Pescetarian…" Lunafreya clarified. "I… I eat seafood." She shrugged, and gestured at him "you can have the skewer." She gestured at Prompto.

"That explains a lot. Like why you rejected bacon. Delicious delicious bacon… oh man that stuff is amazing."

"I do admit… I quite miss bacon." She smiled.

"Wait, you weren't like, born- almost vegetarian?" he asked. They thanked the vendor for his generosity and complimented his food before starting their walk to find a diner.

"I can't quite bear the thought of eating animals. And my mother was like that. After…" she paused. "I suppose I wanted to be more like my mother. It befitting of the Oracle image was just… coincidence." She shrugged.

"I guess I always just took it for granted." Noctis remarked. "Tenebrae always had such good seafood I thought it was just a Tenebrae thing."

"Well let's see if a vendor has something seafood-y or vegetable-y for ya." Prompto suggested.

"Diners usually have something cheap like eggs and toast for pocket change." Noctis answered back. Lunafreya agreed with the thought, and the group carried on. They walked the length of the street surprised that they had trouble finding a local diner, or even bounty posters for hunts that could clue them in.

It took nearly twenty minutes but they found a hole-in-the-wall shop that was serving as Lestallum's hunter's hub. Ignis pulled his wallet from his pants pocket to prove to the man they had undertaken a hunt before.

"Wait when did you get that?"

"In Hammerhead, after the sabertusks Takka gave me this card. I guess hunter hubs run it through a machine like a credit card to add points after you complete hunts. It's how they can tell how accomplished of a hunter you are, with how far many hunters travel."

"Huh. Smart." Gladiolus shrugged. "So how many points do we have?"

"One."

"Just _one_?!" The shield admonished,

"The hunt we did for Cid didn't count."

"We aren't kids, I mean look at me," Gladiolus gestured at the man, "give us a good hunt. We're hungry."

"Rules are rules." He replied. "You have one point? Find a kiddie-hub." He held out a small piece of paper with the information on it. "Bounty from a nearby town. Take it or leave it."

"Guess we gotta prove we got the big dicks afterall." Crowe remarked. "Let's get this done, get your points." She hesitated, tapping her chin, "Or," she pulled out her wallet and slipped out a plastic card of her own, handing it to the man.

"Now this card I can worth with." The man pulled out a clip board and handed it to Crowe, "here, you can do either of these." Crowe slipped both pieces of paper from the board before handing it back to him,

"We'll do both."

"Officially I'm telling you that hunt is for _you_ and not the greenhorns. They get themselves killed I ain't responsible" Crowe nodded,

"I'll keep these idiots in one piece. Except that one, I haven't seen what she can do but I learned never underestimate the skinny ones." She answered with a shrug, turning to give Lunafreya a wink.

"So where are we going?" Ignis asked, ignoring her insult and trying to keep the others from rebuking and starting an argument. He pulled out his map, asking Crowe to point to the location specified on the bounty flier.

"Should we go back and take the Regalia?" Prompto asked, frowning at the distance.

"It's not _that_ far, you can handle the walk." Ignis replied.

"You sure hate any kind of movement for a skinny guy." Crowe remarked, lifting a brow at him.

"Hey you just said yourself don't underestimate the skinny ones."

"I dunno, you qualify more as scrawny than skinny."

"Hey!" she laughed, giving him a punch on the arm,

"Lighten up. I'm just teasing you. Regis wouldn't have made you a Crownsguard to the Brooding Prince if you couldn't hold your own. Now come on." She tilted her head in the direction of the road and the small group began to follow her. Lunafreya gave Noctis a small nudge with her shoulder when she saw his pout at Crowe's nickname, offering him a small smile when he looked at her and he relaxed his posture. Ignis periodically checked the map, preferring to know for certain over Crowe's reassurances that she was familiar with the area enough to lead them without a map.

"The hell are those things?" Prompto asked. They found the pack grazing off the side of the road.

"Anuks."

"Freaky looking. The blight doing this? Like those coeurls?"

"Man. You guys really never left Insomnia, have you?" Crowe quipped back. "This is just normal wildlife." Prompto bit down on his lip, fingers gripping his gun, knuckles flushing white. He pulled it from the holster, thumbing the safety as he turned his gaze away from the brunette woman and onto the bizarre animals.

"Well let's get this over with, I'm starving."

"Agreed." Ignis echoed. Noctis and Lunafreya nodded their agreement.

"Watch this," Crowe smirked. She ran ahead of the group ignoring the warning shouts from them all. She reached out with her hand, willing fire to come forth and preparing to feel the wind whipping around her as she bent the flames to her will. But rather than the pillar of fire she was commanding, a small ball appeared in her palm, the warmth wrapping around her fingers as the air around her remained still save for the gentle breeze. "The hell?" she looked down at her palm, trying to will the fire to grow but found it wouldn't answer her call. She shifted her gaze back up to the pack of animals and the male charging away from the pack, head low. She let out a startled yelp, throwing the ball of fire and it exploded upon impact with the ground. She shielded her face, curling into a ball at the unexpected reaction. Heat washed over hear, and the anak bleated in pain, the pack echoing in reply as they charged away from the flames. Crowe bat madly at the flames caught on her clothing, feeling pain erupt down her limbs and the exposed skin on the back of her neck, her mad thrashing on the ground extinguishing the fire starting on her back.

"Crowe!" Lunafreya's voice was distinguishable in the sea of sound, and she looked up to see her charge running towards her, kneeling on ground before her, "let me help you."

"What the shit happened?" she complained, sitting up and shaking her head when Lunafreya reached out to her. "I'm _your_ shield," she clarified, "not the other way around."

"You are better equipped to keep me safe when you are uninjured. Please, allow me to help you." She asked again. Crowe looked up at her, expecting a sarcastic grin, but instead merely saw Lunafreya kneeling near her, hands resting in her lap.

"Hey guys, your little moment is sweet and all, but we could use a _little_ help!" Prompto complained, punctuated by the bark of his guns. Crowe mumbled something under her breath and allowed Lunafreya to heal her burns, and nearly knocked the woman over in her haste to get to her feet and join the fray. The anaks had scattered, searching for a way to regroup around the invading humans and the obstructing landscape around them flanked with thorn bushes. Crowe tried to summon the flames again, searching for her connection but could only manage the same sphere of flame.

"Damnit!" she hurled the fireball in the direction the anaks were fleeing to get them to turn around, staggering as she threw herself off balance. Her fingers tingled and she looked down at her hand and noticed that the skin was a light pink with a slight discomfort. "The hell happened to me?" she asked. She had always relied on her magic since Regis took her into the Glaives after the fall of Galahad. _What the hell? What the hell?_

"Noct!" Crowe turned at the sudden shout, Lunafreya brushing past her, hands glowing gold as she slid on the scorched grass where Noctis lay after being kicked by one of the anaks fleeing her flames. "Here," she cupped his cheeks, and after a few moments the pair got to their feet, Noctis giving her a nod of thanks as he ran to where Ignis and Prompto were trying to take down the large male anak, hoping that it would leave the others confused, and thus easier to accomplish their hunt. Crowe tried to force her concerns back, flexing her fingers as she shook the rising dizziness from her head. She took a deep breath to stop herself from hyperventilating as she thought about why the fire wouldn't answer her call like before. Her heart raced in her chest, throbbing in her ears as she looked up and summoned another fireball in her hands, wondering _what the hell is wrong with me?_

"That. Sucked." Prompto complained as he lay back on the grass, ignoring Ignis's comment that the soot would get in his hair and it would take him a week to shake the grey stains out of his blonde hair. "What? The chicks dig that salt-n-pepper look anyway. I'm exhausted. Those things sucked."

"Still went better than the sabers." Noctis answered. "At least I _think_ both my eardrums are intact."

"Enough already! You _ever_ gonna let me live that down?"

"Nope"

"No" Noctis and Ignis's replied simultaneously.

"Pretty sure I even heard the mullet shout _no_ in the distance." Crowe added. She was idly flexing her fingers, wrinkling her nose at the discomfort in the tender skin of her palm.

"Crowe?" Lunafreya's quiet voice called her name. "Let me see your hand." Crowe looked down at the skin of her palm that was beginning to peel.

"I'm fine." She answered.

"Please." Crowe looked up at the Oracle and sighed, letting her heal the burns in her palms.

"I need to get back to Hammerhead." _I need to ask the King what's happening to me_

"We just got to Lestallum?" Noctis replied, furrowing his brow. "Everything all right?"

"Yeah. Just, got some questions I didn't think of while we were there. Come on, we have to go blow a frog up too. Heard you're a good cook four-eyes, I'll be careful not to fry the legs too much so you got something to cook." She winked at the advisor.

"Ignis." He corrected.

"Or Specs." Prompto grinned.

Noctis clasped Lunafreya's hand, happy for the chance to explore Lestallum together. He was a bit surprised it was so easy to convince Crowe to allow them some alone time, but he supposed she was trying to earn Lunafreya's trust, and forcing her company on the young woman was not the best way to do it; being her Shield or not.

"You seem pretty tense." Noctis remarked.

"Hmm?"

"My fingers are getting a little numb." He smiled at her, holding up their joined hands. She saw his fingertips were red, and her own knuckles were white. She let go quickly, pulling her hand back.

"Sorry."

"That's not why I brought it up." He answered her apology. She met his gaze, _I'm fine_ rising to the tip of her tongue but instead she let out a slow sigh.

"I'm still… adjusting." She answered honestly. "I keep expecting to see Ravus, soldiers, or Caligo." She lifted a hand to her side, fingers lightly brushing against her aching ribs. "It feels so strange that I don't have to pretend we're merely good friends." She continued. "Though I must admit, should we visit Hammerhead again it would be prudent to not share a tent." She smiled. Noctis chuckled a little, remembering their embarrassing encounter with this father and relieved that she was able to joke about it.

"While I don't think I'd sleep really good knowing you're in the same place but not next me, I gotta agree with you on that one."

"I agree." She smiled and reached for his hand again, "I'll be gentler this time." She smirked.

"Hey I have an idea. They have these cable-car things, we can see the whole region from up there." He offered. She nodded at him, agreeing that it sounded lovely. They followed the cables until it led them to a small building where they could purchase their tickets, and after waiting in a short line were loaded into one of the cable-cars.

She quickly moved over towards the window, smiling as it lifted from the ground and she was given an aerial view of Lestallum and the surrounding land. She beckoned for him to sit next to her, and he shifted from his seat on the bench across.

"I wonder if all of Lucis looked like this before, like your father talked about." She mused. "It's so green…" she paused, tilting her head, "that's the meteor." She recognized it from her studies, a crater where Titan slumbered, carrying a meteor upon his back that had threatened to wipe out half the life in Cleigne. "It does look… odd." She recalled, "I thought it was more… blue." She mused. "It's somewhat gray. Though it could have just been the pictures taken, touched-up to look more beautiful." She shrugged. She turned to him and saw him shrug in response.

"I only ever saw the meteor on T-V or in pictures as well. Guess we'll be seeing it up close ourselves soon, huh?"

"In time. I don't think we can appease Titan just yet." She answered. She wished Gentiana were here to offer them guidance. She had studied this quest for half her life, yet embarking on it was proving a much different affair than she imagined. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt fingers brush against her cheek, and she turned quickly towards the touch, and Noctis jerked back his arm.

"Sorry…"

"No." she answered his apology, and reached out to him. _Do it again._ She brushed her fingers on his cheek to mirror his gesture, and he brought his hand back to her cheek in response. "I'm sorry I'm so jumpy." He shushed her apology, leaning forward to place a peck on her lips.

"I'm gonna admit… I didn't want to come up here just for the view _outside_ the window."

"I ever tell you sometimes you feed me the cheesiest lines?" she chuckled,

"Guess it's a good thing you're not lactose intolerant" She laughed and shoved him, and he smiled at her, welcoming her as she scooted closer and wrapped her arms around him.

"Guess it's a good thing I haven't seen enough romance movies to alter my standards." She teased back.

"Standards? What are those? If you had any you'd realize I'm just some lazy scruffy dude." he answered back, and she laughed at him, shoving at him again and he pulled her back into his arms, pressing a kiss against the top of her shoulder, and she rolled her arm and shifted slightly. He took the hint, tilting his head to kiss her neck, fingers tracing the line of her back, his other hand sliding down her form. She felt his hands brush down her ribs but controlled her wince to a moan. He gripped her harder, mistaking the sound for pleasure. She reached up, pushing his hand down to her waist. She leaned back in and kissed him to prevent his inevitable apology.

After a few soft kisses he pressed against her harder, prodding her bottom lip with his tongue until she allowed him to taste her, his nasal sigh tickling her skin. It was odd to share such affection with him without sneaking behind closed doors and curtains; and the thought caused her to pull away with a disappointed whimper from Noctis.

"How far is the next station?" she asked, peering out the window.

"We have a little time… and no one would care." He tried to assure her. She flushed and apologized, eyes level with his. "It's okay…" he assured her, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "I shouldn't push you. If you're uncomfortable-" she cut him off with a fiery kiss, wanting this chance with him. Wanting to take advantage of this alone time in a cable car high above prying eyes, trying to will her rising pulse to calm. His fingers traced the skin of her lower back beneath the hem of the short top, and she felt goosebumps roll down her arms, cheeks and ears heating up, hoping the color would subside before they reached the station. "Maybe we can rent a hotel room tonight," he whispered in her ear, his breath against her neck sending another chill through her. She smiled, humming her agreement at the thought of sharing a bed with him once more, one that came with no risk of danger lying just outside the door. His fingers brushing along her lower back while his tongue tasted hers was beginning to make her mind wander, and she pulled back from the kiss to give herself time to recover from her flustered state.

She worried about the approaching station and the prying eyes within. _These people won't hurt you for showing him affection. The people have never wanted to hurt you. Only the Nifs._ She tried to assure herself, but wondered if the people of Lucis would hold her in such high regard should her _demure and holy Oracle_ reputation be tarnished. She felt a sudden wave of guilt that she was in their city but wasn't amongst them healing them.

"Luna?"

"Sorry." She smiled at him. She knew that he understood her desire to heal, and pressing the matter would only make him feel as bad as her, and she didn't want to ruin this moment he made for them. She pulled back from his embrace, resting her palms on his chest. "Thank you for bringing me up here." She turned her head towards the window, shifting to turn and lean her back against her seat, nudging Noctis with her shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her in answer to her request, thumb idly brushing the skin of her arm while her gaze returning to out the window to enjoy the view of the rest of their ride. "Whenever I thought about the Covenants I suppose I never actually thought I'd get to see Lucis like we always talked about. I know that sounds silly and contradictory."

"You always talked about the places you wanted to see. I'm sure collecting all these royal arms and Astrals you'll get to see them all." He offered. Her mouth pulled back in a smile that didn't touch her eyes and she nodded. She wondered what it would be like to see Lucis, and all the places Noctis always wrote to her about. He had never seen them himself, but rather relayed stories told by his father, or places featured in movies and shows. She hoped she could enjoy seeing some of them despite the wildfire chasing them.

"And you too… you always talked yourself about wanting to travel if it was ever safe to leave the wall." She answered. She felt him stiffen and turned in his arms, her brows furrowed and an apology ready on her tongue.

"I wonder if his health will get a little better now that he's not constantly channeling the crystal to keep that wall up." He pondered, squeezing Lunafreya's arm.

"Crowe wanted to visit Hammerhead. We can go back, check on him."

"We've been gone like, eight hours? Pretty sure he's in one piece after a work-shift." He answered her. She shrugged, leaning her weight against him.

"I would not argue with everyone resting for at least a day." She had to admit she was quite relieved by his reply.

"Give us some time to think of the next step?" he asked.

"We can do that later… you wanted to enjoy a view. Let's… enjoy it, and worry about the next step later." She shifted in his arms, reaching up to cup his cheek and placed a brief kiss on his lips.

"Good plan."

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So I really really don't like the last several lines of this chapter but I spent like 4 hours on a handful of lines and just threw in the towel. I hope you like it anyways.


	12. Respite

Guest: I can't PM you, but I wanted to thank you for your continued support! I hope you continue to enjoy this story :)

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"Are you sure you don't mind?" Noctis asked Lunafreya as they began to walk back towards the Leville. After the cable car reached the station he admitted to feeling anxious about returning to Gladiolus and Iris to check on them. A quick text sent to Gladiolus had assured him that he wouldn't be intruding on them if he returned.

"It's been a long day, I assure you I have no qualms with returning to the hotel." She assured him again, giving him a smile to try and assuage his doubts.

"I really don't know what I'm supposed to say to them. My dad is alive because _theirs_ is dead." He admonished, gripping her hand tighter, releasing a nasal sigh. Lunafreya allowed the silence to hang between them a moment to give him time to gather his thoughts. "I know Clarus was my father's shield, but I dunno, Gladio is my shield and yeah he protects me but that doesn't mean I want him to _die_ for me. I've known them almost my whole life. Gladio started kicking my ass when I was a kid. And after I followed Iris one day when she snuck out of the Citadel gardens we became fast friends. Clarus was like an uncle in a way. I saw him once in a while, and he was always nice to me." He felt like he was rambling, and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, fingers tugging the hair lightly.

Lunafreya turned her head, her smile dropping. She returned the squeeze to her hand, and a shift of their hands let them twine their fingers together. A slight tug pulled her a little closer, and she tensed up, trying to resist the tug; but after several moments she realized no one was staring at them, and let Noctis pull her a little closer so he could drape an arm around her waist.

"I'm sure just being there for them helps." She broke the long silence, and it took Noctis a few seconds with a furrowed brow to connect her statement.

"Gladio is tough to read. But I guess you're right. If the roles were flipped I guess there's nothing they could say to make me feel better." His thumb began to brush against her waist, the small shirt bunching slightly, her skin cool under his touch. He felt her tense beside him and he drew his arm back. "Sorry." He apologized, "I didn't mean to freak you out." She bit her lip, wanting to assure him that she was fine, trying to will herself to relax.

"The view from the cable car was incredible." She gave herself a few seconds to steady her voice. "And I suppose I can't argue with more private moments with you." She nudged him with her shoulder, looking up at him with a small smile. "If you're willing to bear with me."

"Well you seem pretty willing to put up with my overrated ass." He answered back, getting a light laugh from her.

"So it all balances." They shifted to talking about the view of Cleigne, and and Noctis began to tell her about the other regions of Lucis that he was just as excited to see as her. He mused if they would see the sylleblossums fields together again, and she wondered if she would have the chance to see Insomnia; but kept the thought to herself, unsure of what he had seen at that hilltop. They arrived at the Leville, and Lunafreya realized her knuckles were red from kneading her fingers during the walk. She held her hands clasped when they sat in the lobby, hiding her hands while Noctis texted Gladiolus to say he had arrived and waiting for the reply before getting onto the elevator to find the room he told them he was staying in. They arrived at the door, and Noctis had hardly knocked when the door was pulled open.

"Hey!" Iris stood in the door way and leapt at him, causing him to stumble back a step.

"Whoa, hey Iris." He returned her hug, chuckling lightly at her enthusiasm, glad to see her somber mood appeared to have lightened slightly. Though he expected that for the next several weeks her moods would wax and wane. She pulled back from the hug and tilted her head into the room, the royal couple following her inside.

"Where's the rest of the nerd herd?"

"Still walking around, or stuffing their faces. Seriously, how is Prompto so thin?"

"That dude is so hyper he practically vibrates even in his sleep." She answered back, getting another chuckle from Noctis. "Surprised he's not even skinner. I'd kill for his metabolism. I gotta actually _watch_ what I eat to watch my girly figure." She twirled her finger in the air, other hand on her hip, sashaying further into the room and adopting a mocking high-pitched tone for her last four words.

Noctis sat on the edge of the unoccupied bed, Gladiolus sitting in the center of the other one with his back against the headboard. A closed book with a piece of paper sticking out of it was beside him, and he gave a wave to the royal couple as they came into the room. Lunafreya sat on the edge of the bed beside Noctis, trying to maintain proper distance to give an illusion of decorum. She watch Iris throw a cushion at her brother, calling him rude for being so quiet, and she couldn't help the bitter curiosity of how it would feel to grow up surrounded by so much love. She had her notebook with Noctis, his rare visits, and her strained relationship with her brother. After the murder of her mother, that was all she had. The rest of her family fled Tenebrae, and she wasn't sure if any of them made it; she had never heard from them afterwards.

"Where's Jared and Talcott?"

"They went out for lunch too to give Gladio and me a minute. They must have wanted to walk around a bit." She paused, tilting her head and flushing when she looked over at the young woman sitting on one of the beds, hands folded in her lap. "Wait is that… _the Oracle_?" She asked, eyes widening as she looked up at Noctis.

"Yes, I am." Lunafreya put on her best smile, loosening the grip she had on her own fingers, giving her a polite nod.

"Yeah, this is Luna. Luna, Iris. I don't think I properly introduced you guys," Noctis gave Lunafreya a smile, and she flushed slightly as she returned his smile then looked up at Iris,

"It's a pleasure to you meet you."

"I knew the news was full of crap! Everyone I know was saying it, no _way_ the Oracle is dead! Wait till I tell everyone. They'll be so happy" Iris blushed herself, clapping her hands together once before folding them behind her back, bouncing on her heels.

"We're trying to stay under the radar. If the Nifs catch wind of where she is they'll send everything they have." Noctis answered her, grimacing slightly at the way her face fell. "You can tell people she survived, just… don't tell them how you know." He added, avoid the glare that he was sure would be painted on Lunafreya's face.

"Makes sense then why they'd brag about her being dead… deflate everyone's hope, and it would be easy to sniff out any rumors of her appearance."

"Not if I kill every damn Nif who gets within ten meters of her." Gladiolus muttered from the bed.

"It speaks!" Iris yelped, both hands slapped against the top of her chest.

"Hey, what about _me_? You're _my_ shield, Luna's got Crowe." Noctis teased.

"I'm enough of a badass for you _both_ but I guess I can used to having backup." He quipped back. Lunafreya felt an impulse to defend Crowe, but allowed them to banter at each other uninterrupted, folding her hands back together. Gladiolus looked between Iris and Lunafreya, and decided it best to keep his comment about the royal's being attached at the hip to himself.

"With you _and_ Crowe guess we're immortal?" Noctis shrugged,

"Hey don't turn into one of those cocky _I am a God_ Kings of old! Remember the old stories?"

"Iggy rubbing off on you? 'Bout to give me a history lesson?"

"Are you sure you two are just Prince-and-Shield and not married?" Iris interrupted their banter, then turned to Lunafreya tisked, "g-guess the wedding's off if he's already hitched?" she continued, rocking on her feet a bit.

"Funny." Gladiolus replied, picking up his book and mocking as if to throw the object, causing Iris to shriek and duck, leaving her brother snickering on the bed. "I get you _every_ time with that."

"Because you used to _actually_ throw books at me when we were little!"

"I was never little. I descended from the clouds as the glorious god I am."

"Oh really? I'm pretty sure I have that picture of you with braces on my phone…" Gladiolus sat upright, brows lifting as he lifted the book again,

"Wait wait you have a _picture_ of that?!" Noctis turned to Lunafreya with a broad grin on his face, pointing a finger at his friend. "This guy had braces for two years. Pretended training in silence would make me a better fighter and kicked my ass without saying a word those whole two years to hide his braces! He's only text me about lessons!"

"Yeah! Right here!" Iris held up the phone, giving it a victorious wave. She handed the phone to Noctis despite her brother shouting his protests, and Lunafreya couldn't help leaning over to glance at the screen, unable to suppress the small smile at the sight of an awkward early-teen Gladiolus in what was clearly a forced smile,

"Damn Gladio, your brow is so scrunched up you look like you have a unibrow."

"And constipated." Iris added.

"Dad made me take it, insisted he wanted one of me with a smile. Of course the jackass picked the week after I got my braces. Had to be on purpose." Gladiolus shifted back into the bed, drumming his fingers on the comforter; Iris's smile fell and she took the phone back from Noctis. She flicked through the phone, her brows furrowing together.

"I don't think I have many of dad. I know I don't have one of the three of us together."

"I have one of the four of us…" Gladiolus answered her after a long silence. "I know you don't remember our mother, but it's the only family picture I have. Not sure everyone ever sat still long enough to take another one. You sure as hell liked to run off the moment you learned how to run." Gladiolus chuckled, pulling out his phone and tapping at it. "I was always afraid of losing the picture so I uploaded a digital copy to a storage site. Guess it's a damned good thing I did…" He wondered if the picture was still intact in its frame in his small room at the Citadel north of the training grounds, or if it had burned with the rest of Insomnia.

Lunafreya noted the way Noctis deflated beside her at the mention of the pair's mother, and wondered if it the blight was what took her; for many years it was the leading cause of death back in Tenebrae and neighboring Nifleheim if rumors were to be trusted; official sources were never truthful. She made a mental note to ask Noctis about it later. After several moments Gladiolus handed his phone to Iris who tilted her head at it,

"He looks really happy in this one. He usually looks all constipated. Must be where you got it from."

"Classy. Classy girl. Should a noble lady really talk like that?" he taunted, earning him the irritated scrunched expression he was aiming for, winking at her.

"You're suck a dick Gladio."

"Wait didn't you used to call him Gla-dick-io for a few years when we were kids?"

"He punched my first boyfriend!" she snapped.

"You were _thirteen_!" Gladiolus attempted to defend, but Iris merely laughed, making a rude hand gesture.

"You were what, eleven? When you started dating that girl… "

"He commented on your…" he paused, scrunching his nose and sticking his tongue to the roof of his mouth like he was trying to clear a bad taste in his mouth, "breasts. What did you expect me to do? Let him befoul your honor like that?"

"We were thirteen! Thirteen year old boys make boob jokes! It's not like I showed him mine!"

"I didn't wan't people to think you showed 'em off! Can we talk about something else now?"

"You're the one who brought it up _Gladickio_!"

"Man I had nearly forgotten that nickname!" Noctis laughed.

"Oh you want a reminder of why you stopped calling me that?"

A knock on the door drew a yelp from Lunafreya, who flinched and told the group she was fine, the sharp noise merely catching her off guard. Noctis resisted the urge to reach for her hand, glancing at her for a moment and got up to answer the door after she gave him a small smile with a subtle nod. The small boy he assumed was Talcott was standing behind the door with an older man that Noctis recognized as Jared, the man had been serving the Amicitia family for decades. The boy looked back, tilting his head to look up at the older man, relaxing his posture when Jared gestured for him to go into the room.

"Welcome back guys."

"How you feeling?" Jared asked.

"Not okay." Iris answered honestly, "I don't think I'll be okay for a while." Iris gave a nervous glance over at Noctis, her eyes flicking over to Lunafreya for a moment too brief to make eye contact and turned to her brother, who simply nodded at Jared with a shrug of one shoulder.

"To be expected." Jared nodded. "And Noctis! I was quite pleased to hear you made it from Altissia! When I heard the news on the radio…" he looked over to the young woman beside him. "Is this?"

"Luna." Noctis introduced, "The Oracle."

"Well I'll be damned… Maybe there's a lick of hope for our world." He had been told of everyone's flight from Altissia, and the fate of Regis and Clarus in Insomnia, but seeing the Oracle safe in person was a comforting sight

"You all must be exhausted if what Gladiolus told me is correct." Jared moved the lock on the door. Noctis got up from the bed, Lunafreya mirroring him the pair ignoring Jared's protests as they gestured for him to take their spot. Noctis sat on the bed near Gladiolus, Lunafreya sitting on the windowsill.

"Can't deny that."

"Let me rent rooms for everyone tonight, get a good rest. Gladiolus told me that you all plan to be spending many nights camping." He held up a palm to forestall any protests, "I insist. If you are going to be facing the wilds of Lucis the least I can do is rent a hotel room for the night." The royal pair relented, happy for the offer. The others returned within the half-hour, equally excited at the offer. Initially Jared offered to rent three rooms total, but the group insisted he was being generous enough with two. Iris and Gladiolus would share a room with Jared and Talcott, still needing the family time. Noctis, Luna, Prompto, Ignis, and Crowe were to share the second room after Crowe insisted she would be quite comfortable on the floor as long as several of the sleeping bags in the Regalia were brought to the room. Talcott was excited by the cactuar and chocobo toys that were purchased by the returning friends, and the group sat and talked for a short time before exhaustion caught up with them and they parted ways to prepare for bed.

Lunafreya sat on the edge of the bed, drying the ends of her wet hair, listening to the shower run and trying to focus on the sound to ease her anxiety. Noctis had entered the bathroom after her, and the others were finishing getting ready. Ignis and Crowe had walked to the Regalia to gather the sleeping bags so she could comfortably sleep on the floor and she sprawled out across the top of them after complaining that the air conditioner couldn't compete with the heat.

"You'd think you'd be used to heat after living in Galahad. That place is basically a sauna isn't it?" Prompto answered her complaint from where he was lying on the bed, fiddling with his phone.

"My spoiled ass got used to the nicer climate of Lucis and all the high-power air conditioners in Insomnia that could turn your room into a freezer if you wanted. Speaking of spoiled, what's _your_ spoiled ass gonna do for entertainment when we're off adventuring in the wild? Not like people built those wireless charging hubs in the middle of sabertusk territory."

"We'll probably be stopping by places humans exist often enough." He answered, a slight hesitation in his reply.

"I'm not counting on that. Hey blondie,"

"Yeah?" Prompto asked.

"Not you, the pretty one."

"I _am_ the pretty one!" Prompto retorted,

"I don't see the Prince making goo-goo eyes at _you_ so I beg to differ. But fine, if that's too confusing for you," she paused to look up at Lunafreya, "hey sparkle-fingers."

"Sparkle-fingers?"

"Your fingers get all glittery when you do your thing with the healing and the prayers and the being all magical." She wiggled her fingers in the air.

"Quite the nickname for the Oracle." Prompto laughed. Lunafreya smiled, unlacing her fingers and leaning back against her palms. Noctis had always called her Luna after being incapable of pronouncing her full name a child, but this was the first time she had been given an actual nickname. Even the few friends she had before the Nifleheim invasion merely called her Lunafreya due to her brother's distaste for calling her by anything but her full name, and how intimidating he was even as a child.

"Not very… respectful." She looked over at Ignis with a slight frown,

"I like it." She offered after a brief hesitation.

"See?" Crowe pointed, "don't have to be all proper _all_ the time." Noctis emerged from the shower, and Ignis was glad for the interruption and the chance to wash away his tension. He made a mental note to encourage the group to undertake another hunt so they could buy extra sets of clothes and some sleepwear prior to departing form Lestallum. He wasn't sure where their next destination was, and the ambiguity bothered him; nearly as much as the idea of putting back on a worn set of clothing after showering. But he supposed circumstance was twisting his arm, and sleeping in the nude was not exactly an option.

"You would do well to shower after me and scrub that sarcasm off you, I can smell it from here." Ignis quipped to her, and turned to hide his smirk in response to her barking laugh.

"You know you love it." She shot back, and make a kissing gesture at his back that left the advisor rolling his eyes. He showered, and Crowe followed. With everyone feeling as clean as they could sleeping in dirty sweat-coated clothing the lights were switched off as they all settled into their respective spots. Lunafreya shifted onto her side, gripping the blankets and tugging them close. She felt Noctis's hand drift to her hip and she flinched at the contact. She heard a whispered _sorry_ to accompany him withdrawing his hand. She frowned, gripping the sheets tighter cursing how jumpy she was at times. She knit her brows, trying to will herself to remain still when she felt his palm against her again, but instead she heard shifting cloth and a whispered apology.

Sleep took each of the friends in turn, Prompto asking the others if they would be disturbed if he set some music on his phone to sleep to, disliking the ambiance of city noise. No one protested, and the room was filled with a strange genre that combined techno with orchestral music. They group found it odd, but were too tired to tease about it and just allowed the music to play. Exhaustion led to dreamless sleep for the group until a jarring ringing echoed in the small room.

Lunafreya's eyes opened and she realized there were arms around her, but this wasn't her bedroom in Tenebrae. She sat up quickly, looking for the source of the sound and saw the others in the room. Her heart raced, throbbing in her ears and a numbness shot through her limbs. She shifted back against the headboard, her chest rising with shallow rapid breaths. She was vaguely aware of Ignis's voice talking quietly, and Prompto complaining about being woken up quite a bit louder.

"Luna?" Noct mumbled, wondering why her warmth shimmied away from him so quick.. He looked up at her and saw the way she was pressing herself against the headboard and quickly sat himself up. "Luna?" he asked again, reaching for her hand. Her head turned quickly, and even in the dark he could see how much of the blue in her eyes was obscured with black. "Hey… you're okay. You're in Lestallum? Remember?" Her movements were sharp as she looked around her, squinting her eyes as she let out a long exhale.

"Sorry." She apologized, a quiver to her voice.

"Sparklefingers?" Crowe's voice called form the floor, hoarse with sleep.

"I just need air." She spoke slowly, tone sharp as she tried to control the tightness in her throat and bring her breathing under control. She threw she sheets aside, covering Noctis's face, hastily climbing from the bed and walking towards the door fumbled with the lock, a loud _thud_ echoing in the room as the heavy door swung shut behind her. Noctis disentangled himself from the sheets,

"I'll go check on her." He answered the questions and worried eyes from around the room before leaving. He found Lunafreya in the hallway with her hands clasped together before her chest. Her eyes were shut tight, lips tight together as she fought to control her rapid breathing. "Luna?" he asked. She jumped, gasping, and looked at him.

"Sorry…"

"Are you okay?" he hesitated before speaking, trying to suppress his first reflex to tell her to stop apologizing.

"I…" she paused, and shook her head, stepping towards him. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, her own hands grasping his shirt. "Gods Noct… I thought… I just saw so many people around us. I thought they were the soldiers who used to sometimes watch me sleep at night. I thought they…" she hesitated, swallowing hard as her mind swam. The sweat on Noctis's shirt almost smelled like the metal, the dirt like oil. She resisted the urge to push him away and just kept repeating to herself _It's Noctis. You're safe. You're safe._ She tried to focus on the warmth of his arms, something those machines could never replicate. The feel of his breath against her hair was nothing like the stinging exhaust from the machines, his soothing voice so unlike the electric whine. "I thought they were watching us… that Caligo would finally find out. That they would… that the human soldiers would finally just… just do all those things they threatened to do if I wasn't _the Holy Oracle._ " Her voice cracked, and a sharp inhale left her throat as a sob, her knuckles flushing white as she gripped his shirt tighter.

Noctis wanted to assure her that she was safe, he wouldn't allow those MT machines anywhere near her, that Caligo would never again haunt the hallways where slept, and the threats that were constantly following her would never be fulfilled. But her sobs against his chest were making it hard for him to control the tightness in his throat, the anger roiling within him, and he didn't want that rage to find its way into his voice. He wrapped his arms around her tighter, pulling her closer to him and kissed the crown of her head. It was several moments before he trusted himself to speak,

"You're safe now." Were the only words he could think of, wishing he could find something _real_ to say to bring her comfort. He knew she didn't feel safe, recalling their conversation from that first night in Hammerhead.

"Am I really though?" she answered, one fist gripping his shirt, her other palm slapped against his chest in a feigned attempt to push him away as she nestled herself closer. "If people recognize me, and see us together, can't he just send his army to capture me?" she asked him.

"Like hell if I'd let them. And once we get the Astrals on our side they'll blow up Eos to keep their messenger safe." She wanted to correct him, say that Gentiana was their messenger, she was mankind's messenger. Caligo's _Lady Lunafreya._ Nifleheim's Oracle. The healer. The holy figure. "And you're in Lucis now."

"Do the people of Lucis even look at me as anything more than a title and a picture from the newspaper?" She forced the question out. "I'm keeping you up. You must still be tired…"

"Don't do that." He answered her, "Don't use me as an excuse to ignore yourself. You're safe Luna... I won't let anything happen to you. I'll collect every damn weapon on this continent, every Astral, destroy every last Nif if that's what it takes to keep you safe." He whispered into her hair. She squinted her eyes, feeling the tears stinging her cheeks, and fought the pain in her throat. _You're one man against an entire Nation._ She thought.

"I trust you."

"You can trust my friends too. And Crowe, she's your Shield."

"To them I'm just the Oracle." She answered back.

"No, you're _Luna_. Don't mind Iggy. He can't _not_ be formal even if you held a gun to his head." She chuckled at that,

"I suppose I'll just have to keep reminding him until he stops calling me Lady Lunafreya."

"He'll get it eventually."

"I just don't think I should expect him to call me sparklefingers." She chuckled, pulling back slightly and sniffling, feeling childish as she pressed the back of her hand below her nose.

"Sparklefingers?" Noctis asked, tilting his head at her.

"Crowe's nickname for me." She smiled lightly, "because my fingers glowed when I healed her burns."

"See? You're already more than just the Oracle to them. Give 'em a chance. I promise they don't care that we shared a bed. If it makes you feel better, I can tease Prompto and Ignis all day tomorrow."

"Oh don't do that." She managed a chuckle, shaking her head, she lifted a hand from his chest, running it through her hair and brushing her bangs away from her face.

"Ready to go back to bed sparklefingers?" he asked, brushing his fingers against her cheek, resting his palm against her shoulder. She nodded, brushing away her tears with the heel of her hand.

"They must think I'm crazy… storming out like that."

"Just tell them you heard an ice cream truck and couldn't resist the craving. You're a chick, they'll get it." He waved a hand, exhaling a raspberry.

"Pig!" she laughed, pushing him away from her. He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms again,

"I like you better smiling." He insisted. "Laughing is even better."

"I like you smiling better too, I'm sorry I-"

"Stop apologizing." She shrugged slightly and smiled in answer, and let him guide her back into the room after she admitted she did need more sleep in answer to his inquiry. She feared going back into the room would be awkward, but Crowe merely looked at her with forrowed brows, laying back down when Lunafreya gave her a small nod. The only sounds from Ignis and Prompto were quiet breathing, and the odd music playing from Prompto's phone. But Ignis was still sitting up in bed, back against the headboard.

Noctis slid into bed next to Lunafreya, letting her curl onto her side and maintain a degree of distance between them. He reached over for his phone resting on the end table beside the bed and dim the screen before pulling up his messages.

 _Noct: Whats up you okay man?_

 _Ignis: Yes and no. My uncle is alive, uninjured, but he is still stuck in Insomnia. He is the one who called me. Is the Lady all right?_

 _Noct: Shell be fine guess i snuggled her in my sleep and shes still getting used to a new environment and a lot of new faces so it made her panic itll take time for her to really feel safe i think_ Noctis hit send, giving Lunafreya a glance, sighing

 _Ignis: Understandable._

 _Noctis: So is your uncle safe?_

 _Ignis: He and some other refugees have taken shelter in a house. Parts of Insomnia even have power. But we can discuss this further in the morning._ Noctis heard the ruffling of sheets and turned to see Ignis settling into the bed, Prompto whining a little bit and turning over. He sighed, setting into the bed himself, tugging the sheets up to his shoulder. He slid a hand under the sheet and found Lunafreya's hand, brushing the edge of her thumb with his fingertips and felt her reach and twine their fingers.

The morning consisted of a difficult several minutes to draw their prince out of bed, and a quick breakfast purchased by Jared, who refused any offers to pay him back for his generosity towards the group. Crowe brought up her request to return to Hammerhead to discuss the change in her abilities with Regis, Lunafreya rejecting her proposal of staying behind and having a new Shield assigned.

"Look why don't the two of you shop together? We'll give you some money to get some practical clothes," he paused at Lunafreya's expression and held up a palm, "A blind man could tell you're uncomfortable in that outfit. Look it'll do you both good. Crowe, whether you believe it or not she wants you to be her shield, so go play nice."

"Should we really split up?" Lunafreya asked.

"Look, a Shield is better if they get to know their charge. I used to think Noct here was nothing more than a spoiled Prince. Okay he _is_ a spoiled Prince,"

"Hey!"

"But I now know he has a few extra personality traits, but didn't learn that until we were stuck alone together."

"What, your parents put you in a pair of hundcuffs or something?" Crowe asked, crossing her arms and lifting a brow.

"Uh, kind of." Noctos offered.

"I was training Noct and being a bigger ass than usual. Noct, who had just learned that freaky magic shit, threw a blizzard spell at me. Well, he didn't control it well. Got us both trapped in the ice from the shin-down. Thank god Insomnia makes good boots. Regis refuse to free us, sick of us not getting along. Well we got bored and started talking."

"You _do_ have a short attention span." Prompto pointed out.

"Longer than yours. Long story short, getting to know the Prince made me a better shield, so getting to know the Princess will make you a better Shield." Gladiolus finished. "And you _really_ want to admit to Nyx you quit?"

"Speaking of glaives… didn't someone mention Libertus? I haven't seen his ass anywhere and it has an overdue appointment at the E-R after that recipe bullshit."

"Huh?" Prompto asked, vaguely remembering something involving a lot of swearing and a recipe back in Galdin Quay.

"I dunno, I stopped questioning her a long time ago." Gladiolus answered, and Crowe clearly ignoring both men and repeated her question. "Actually good point. Iris said Libertus led a bunch of refugees here. Wonder where he went. I'll ask Iris when she gets out of the shower." Gladiolus added. He too was curious where the glaive went, and if he should be worried about his disappearance, especially after the trick he pulled on Crowe.

"I gotta shove my fist so far up his ass I'll be pulling his teeth." Crowe mumbled. "Makin a _great_ impression on you, huh?" she added, giving Lunafreya a light tap on the arm with a closed fist.

"I'm quite sure he must have done something to earn such ire." She answered with a slight shrug.

"Well you two get something more practical so you can stop looking like you want to crawl out of your own skin, we'll go get some practical provisions around town." Gladiolus explained. He insisted there was some money left after he handed over gil to Lunafreya. She lamented the small shorts lacking adequate pockets and handed the money to Crowe, sure that the black cargo pants the woman was wearing would be more secure.

"We can all meet back up after shopping like a bunch of teenage girls. Good plan?" They all agreed, and began to part ways, Noctis grabbing Lunafreya's wrist letting their friends get ahead of them.

"If you need me just call, okay? Crowe has my number." She smiled at him, pausing to let their friends get just a few more steps ahead of them before standing on her toes to give him a quick kiss,

"I'll be all right." She assured him. "But I promise to call if need be." She assured him. He smiled, giving her a second kiss before grasping her hand so they could catch up to their friends before they had a chance to tease them for falling back.

* * *

So I guess not a ton actually happened in this chapter. I hope you find Luna's anxiety fits. I went with her dark past from the trailers and simply escaping the Empire won't erase all that trauma. Hope this chapter was enjoyable :)


	13. Shield vs Shield

Sorry for the delay! Life is quite busy with a baby and working full time. But here's the next chapter, I do hope you enjoy,

* * *

"So we're gonna get you some practical clothes. None of that descended-from-on-high white purity nonsense." Crowe wagged a finger. "Start with some pants. Not sure those shorts you're wearing can count as anything more than fancy undies." Lunafreya flushed, tugging at the bottom of the admittedly limited shorts, and tried to pull down the top she was wearing without accidentally revealing more of her already partially exposed chest.

"I would prefer to be a bit more… covered." She answered. "And I do believe some proper footwear would be prudent." She appreciated the sneakers that she was provided by Cindy, but the soles were partially separating from the bottom of the show, and the fabric was so worn her left pinky toe was poking through.

"Yeah gotta get you a good pair of hiking boots." Lunafreya nodded in reply, and wondered if boots would be as comfortable as the old pair of sneakers she was wearing. She began to knit her fingers to stop herself from mindlessly tugging at her clothing.

"As long as they aren't heels. Quite like this feeling that my skin may actually remain adhered to my feet."

"Well I know a good cheap place. Unlike the bromance clan, I've actually been _outside_ of Insomnia." She led Lunafreya through the streets, occasionally earning the odd turned head. "Ya know, we should get you a hat too." The Shield commented. "You stick out even worse than Prompto with that blonde hair of yours."

"Not many Tenebraeans about?" Lunafreya answered.

"I can't tell if that was sarcasm or a painful naivete. You should play poker with that deadpan of yours."

"Care to make a wager?"

"Oh now I _have_ to play poker with you. I think I can see what Noct sees in you."

"I suppose I could use the extra money." Crowe barked a laugh, promising to get a game set up once they were collectively less broke. She led the way to a clothing store that smelled like cheap perfume and blasted music from wall-mounted speakers. The brightly colored walls were almost disorienting with nonsense patterns, and the dirty stone floor provided a jarring contrast.

"It's like a raver barfed glitter on a yard sale, huh? I swear you'll find some practical clothes here. C'mon." Crowe beckoned Lunafreya into the store when she halted at the doorway and lifted her brow. She shrugged, sighing and followed her Shield. "So what should we stick you in? Hmm… at least one black shirt. You're gonna be a Caelum right? Gotta get you in some black to make you and the brooding Prince a matching set." Lunafreya shrugged and smiled, shifting her gaze to a rack of shirts, idly thumbing through them to keep her hands busy. "What size are you?"

"Hmm? Oh. I know my dress measurements-"

"Naw, that won't work. Here, stick out your arms." Lunafreya lifted a brow a little but reached her arms out, flinching slightly as Crowe dropped a pair of pants in her arms.

"Denim is pretty practical. We'll try on a few sizes, see what your skinny ass fits in." she got a nod in reply, and dropped another pair of pants on her arm. "Okay go try these on, once we know your pant size we'll get started on shirts." She shooed her the changing rooms, and leaned against the wall as she waited for her. She sighed, drumming her fingers against the wall, leg bouncing in place. Her eyes scanned the room, wondering what colors she should try and talk her into, aside from the typical Lucian black. She saw a tie-dyed shirt with a bit of glitter on it and grinned at the thought of _Sparklefingers_ wearing something so, well, sparkly. She shifted through the shifts and settled and pulled out a small version of the shirt, but then put it back for a medium simply for the extra length so she wouldn't be tugging on the bottom of her shirt all day. She felt her phone buzz and pulled it from her pocket, seeing an unread message from Gladiolus on her phone

 _Mullet: Hey its noct usin gladius phone i dont have ur number luna holding up?_

 _Crowe: Im pretty terrifying but ive manged not to make her run screaming to the end of the continent._

She tapped send and shoved the phone back into her pocket, ignoring the near instant buzz in her pocket. She envied the bond Gladiolus and Noctis had, it was like the one she had with her fellow glaives. She thought about the people's numbers in her phone and wondered if she should message any of them. Were any of them alive, and _not_ traitorous bastards? And she promised herself to pay back Libertus for his recipe stunt. She thought about Nyx, and how his awkward bitter ass had been promoted to _The King's Shield_. She thought about sending him a message to check it but quickly decided _no_. She could harass him in person soon enough if she could convince Noctis that interrogating Regis about what the shit happened to her powers was a good idea if he still expected her to protect the damned Oracle.

She turned towards the changing rooms and went back to lean against the wall holding the obnoxious shirt in her hand with every intention of purchasing it and making it her life's mission to get the girl to try it on. She wondered if her charge would even oppose the garment. She was always in white on broadcasts or in published photos; but how much of that was merely Nifleheim's doing? Did she _like_ white? Color? Did she want to wear black and match Noctis or would that just make her seem like someone else's tool again? She sighed, wishing she knew more about the girl. She seemed nice enough, but she knew nothing about her outside of whatever crap the Empire shoved down everyone's throat. Was she still an Empirical puppet? The girl clearly had Noct wrapped around her finger. _Oh calm the hell down._ She chided herself.

"Crowe?" she turned, and grinned as she saw said woman standing there. "They appear to fit well?" she asked, gesturing down to her legs.

"Hey now, seems we have a success. Spin around," she did as told, awkwardly turning around. She bit back a comment about how good the denim made her ass look, and settled on telling her to get changed up so they could figure out her shirt size, buy what they needed, and get out of the store before the music gave her a headache. They left some time later with the obnoxious glitter shirt, a pair of denim, several shirts, underclothes, a jacket for when they weren't dying from heatstroke in Lestallum, and something to sleep in.

"I feel quite bad spending so much of our money on myself." Lunafreya remarked after they had paid and left the store.

"You hardly purchased a bare minimum to dodge living in the same thing every day. You're allowed to y'know, have things. And in this case you kinda _need_ these things. It's not like you're dashing around collecting jewelry 'n shit. And you helped in the hunt that got us this money, you don't think you're entitled to your own share of it?"

"I merely wish to be practical" she answered.

"Okay we gotta go get something frivolous now." Crowe answered her, and gave Lunafreya a slow push on her arm with a closed fist, "I'm not gonna _actually_ hit you." She added at the way Lunafreya's arm grew tense. "Be a pretty shitty Shield if I did." Lunafreya wanted to offer a reassurance that Regis would not have appointed her if she did not trust she could do the job, but on the same hand she was realistic. She knew that options were limited, and most of the people he had hand-picked to protect his family had turned their backs on the Caelum line and helped to bring upon the fall of Insomnia. But she wanted to trust in her, if only to prove her trust for Regis.

"Don't you need clothing too?" she diverted.

"Oh I got a bag fulla stuff, packed a few days of things when Libertus pulled his little trick." She muttered another threat about the man.

"What exactly did he do? I'm a bit confused on this." She inquired.

"He sent me with _an important message_ for Noctis warning him of an incoming attack on the Citadel, but really all he did was hand me a cookie recipe from a magazine. Probably trying to get me out of the Citadel… but there really was an attack, he sent me away just to get me out of the way." She rolled her shoulders a bit and grinned, "I'll give him what's coming to him." Lunafreya observed the slight change in her gait; her feet hit the pavement with slightly more force, her shoulders more rigid. She shifted her gaze to the road ahead of them to avoid bumping into strangers, letting silence to hang between them rather than prod Crowe further.

"Hey that vendor over there is selling hats." The Shield broke the silence. She looked at the small variety, but let Crowe take the lead. "Any of them catch your attention?"

"I never wore hats, even as a kid. _Unbecoming of a Princess_ my mother would say." She had memories of her brother shoving his hats onto her, most frequently his soldier's cap. He had always aspired to lead the Tenebraean military. "Noctis wears this kind a lot," she mused, lifting one and thumbing the edge of the hat's rim.

"Put it on." Crowe instructed. Lunafreya slipped the had on, opening her palms in a mock _ta da_ gesture, earning a tisk and a shake of the head.

"Nah, not very you. Here, try this one." She grabbed another hat and placed it on Lunafreya's head, and then nodded at her result, "ah, definitely suits you better. You're pretty adorable if I do say so myself." They paid for the item, Crowe broke off the price-tag and shimmied it onto the young woman's head. "Wonder if the Astrals are gonna strike me down for making their Oracle all non-Oracle-y" she remarked.

"Everyone expects Eos to explode if I'm not in a white dress and glowing. I assure you, it merely catches fire." Crowe snorted, patting her roughly on the shoulder, "I think I'm gonna like you." She grinned, and Lunafreya returned her smile.

Crowe talked Lunafreya into eating something before trying to meet back up with everyone else, which worked since it had been fourty minutes with no reply to their attempts at contact. Not used to instant forms of communication Lunafreya couldn't even pretend to be nearly as antsy as her counterpart.

"They're certainly just busy. Ignis wanted to purchase some necessities, and everyone needed clothes as much as I did."

"They're dudes, not teenage girls. They probably just grabbed fistfuls of the first few outfits they saw and bought 'em. Okay except that Prompto." Crowe shrugged, and Lunafreya shrugged in reply. The Shield toured her charge around the city, and talking about the role that women played as the only workforce after the war had drafted nearly all the men of working age, and very few returned home. "And kinda surprised Titan hasn't just eaten everyone out of annoyance. They use the crystals from the meteor as a power source."

"Perhaps the crystals are a gift from the Astrals?" Lunafreya suggested.

"I think the Astrals see us as bugs, too small, insignificant, and stupid to bother communicating with. Isn't that why you're like, some liaison?" She frowned at Crowe's description of her, and wondered how much people outside of the Caelums and Fleurets knew about her role as Oracle.

"My role is to commune with the Astrals-"

"Yeah yeah prophecy, pontifications, doom and gloom. My job is to keep your ass alive, even if it means following you all over the continent. The reason doesn't matter."

"A bit jaded." Lunafreya replied, and avoided meeting Crowe's gaze when she saw her head turn from the periphery of her vision. Crowe flinched when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket, the matching chime causing the Oracle to halt her steps and turn towards her.

"Hey, the assholes finally replied. Wanna meet us down that that circle area near where you guys parked that fancy car." She tilted her head to gesture at changing directions and the pair walked to the planned meetup. The group were all either sitting in the Regalia, or leaning against it when they arrived, and from a distance the pair were able to tell that they boys had been up to more than just shopping. "The hell you guys do, pick a fight with a lawn mower?" Crowe called out as they approached, Lunafreya jogging ahead of her towards them.

"I'm okay I'm okay!" Noctis held his hands up and offered her a smile in answer to the way she was knitting her brow and biting down on her lip. Her fingers reached up to a cut above his brow, but he wrapped his fingers around her wrist to lower her hand. "We needed some more money and got word about a couple hunts that just came through." She frowned at his answer, and curled her fingers, tugging against Noctis's grip on her wrist. He apologized and let go, and she shrugged at him.

"Everyone else?" she asked, looking around at them. Gladiolus was sporting a swollen nose, holding a blood soaked rag beneath it, Ignis appeared more agitated by his disheveled clothing than any injuries that could be hidden by clothing, and Prompto was laughing about the advantages of a ranged weapon.

"We're all fine, seriously." Noctis tried to assure her. "And can I just say you are absolutely adorable in that hat, really suits you!" Lunafreya flushed, offering a shy smile and shrugging,

"Crowe thought I needed something to obscure my hair a little since blonde hair isn't very common on this continent. Now stop trying to distract me and let me heal that head of yours."

"It's just a cut," he attempted to insist, but made no attempt to push her hands away, listening to her ramble about head injuries as she gave him her light. His forehead changed from a dull burning sensation to a day-old ache and an itch. "Thanks," he smiled at her, getting one in return.

"Was it worth all the trouble?" she asked, turning to offer healing to the others. Gladiolus accepted this time, Ignis and Prompto both insisting they were uninjured.

"As manly as getting blood stains on my shirt is, I definitely was ready for this nosebleed to _stop_ already. Thanks." Gladiolus responded to her healing before answering her question in the affirmative, being overtaken by Ignis beginning to list the various food and camping supplies they were able to purchase in addition to extra sets of clothing.

"Well now that we got our checklists done, daily dose of entertainment at how much you guys got your asses kicked without us, I think it's time to figure out what the hell the next step is. I vote Hammerhead so I can ask Regis what the shit happened with my badassery tamed down to a hiccupping puppy."

"Yeah we did kinda leave Hammerhead in a rush…" Noctis admitted.

"I was worried about Iris-"

"Me too! I wasn't complaining" Noctis interrupted Gladiolus's defensiveness. "I was just as eager to move as you. But let's head back so I can ask my dad where the next royal arm is." Ignis looked up and held up a finger, but narrowed his eyes and exhaled, bring his hands back down. They all agreed on the plan, making one last stop inside the Leville. Iris refused to have any teary goodbyes, simply punching her brother and hugging Noctis telling them they better visit her with some candy soon enough or she'll hunt them down. They piled into the car, heading back to the garage glad to leave the heat of Lestallum behind.

The sky was red when Regis recognized his beloved car in the distance from his seat next to Cid, despite seeing it as little more than a silhouette in the late dusk lighting. He kneaded the scar tissue on his hand between sips of warm beer. He stood, feeling the shooting pain run down his leg, and winced, placing his beer down on the wobbly metal table, waving a hand at Cid who said any beer that gets put down is up for grabs. He walked closer to the fuel pumps and brought a palm up to greet everyone as the familiar called pulled into the lot, Crowe's motorcycle parking behind it.

"Son, quite dangerous to be driving so close to dusk." He remarked. He sighed, shaking his head and decided not to press the issue. "What news of Clarus's daughter?" He asked as he and Noctis walked up to each other. The others bowed to their King, and Lunafreya stood beside her Prince.

"She's fine, Jared and Talcott too. Though it was kinda confusing they said they were led by Libertus but we didn't see him and no one knows where he is." Noctis answered.

"I'm happy to hear that," he looked up to Gladiolus, giving him a nod and receiving a nod in return. "If you return to Lestallum again please… give her my best." He hesitated. "And my thanks." Gladiolus bowed, squinting a bit and clearing his throat,

"We're just glad you are safe your Majesty." Regis chuckled lightly at the answer,

"You are allowed to be human Gladiolus Amicitia. Clarus was my friend as much my Shield, I would never think less of your or Iris for allowing yourself to mourn." He hesitated when he saw Gladiolus blink several times, shifting the weight on his legs, the muscles in his arms tensing as his hands clamped tighter around his own wrists that were clamped behind his back. He nodded at Gladiolus again and turned his attention back to his son, "You say Libertus made it out as well?" Lunafreya turned her head towards Crowe when she saw her shifting uncomfortably beside her, and turned her attention back to Regis.

"Yeah, he led a bunch of people out of Insomnia. And Ignis heard from his uncle, there's survivors still hiding in Insomnia. Guess some areas even have power! Maybe we can-"

"We cannot reclaim Insomnia just yet Noctis." The Prince grit his teeth, exhaling sharply though his nose. "I understand your frustration… you are not the only one feeling agitated by inaction. But reclaiming the city is not wise at this time." Noctis nodded and lifted his chin.

"It's not why we came back anyway. I need to know which royal tomb to go to next, and Crowe had some questions for you too."

"Well hey thar Prince!" Cindy's voice called across the parking lot, getting a collective of startled looks from everyone. "Knew I recognized that purty engine comin' in. Temptin' death by drivin' this late at night y'all?" she walked up to the Regalia, and immediately began to tisk at it. "I don't know how y'all managed it, gone for a day and the poor thing looks like it drove through a war. Luna be a dear 'n fetch me the blue bucket on the top shelf in the garage. Gonna give the old gal a bath 'n a good waxin to hopefully keep 'er lookin' clean for longer'n a day." Lunafreya exchanged a confused glance with Noctis before walking to the garage.

She saw the King's newly appointed shield next to an open toolbox, whistling along with a song playing out of the radio set beside it. The garage lights were on, allowing enough light for Nyx to work on what appeared to be an abnormally large chainsaw. She looked up on the shelving unit and saw the blue bucket, and her lips tilted when she saw how high the shelf was. She walked up and gave the unit a test shake before stepping on the bottom shelf, groaning slightly as she reached to the top. She swung at the bucket with her fingertips to nudge it closer to the edge.

"Want some help?" Nyx asked.

"I have it." She continued reach at the bucket with her fingertips, her shirt lifting up, and wished she had changed into her new clothing back in Lestallum.

"What the hell happened to you?!" She yelped, her hand knocking the bucket to the floor and she stumbled back away from the shelving unit. Nyx was walking towards her, his finger pointed her ribs.

"I'm all right." She answered him, but he continued his rapid approach.

"Not used to something other than heels and tripping on yourself?" he asked with a hesitant grin. She smiled back and shrugged. "Here I thought you were all graceful." He paused, knitting his brows as he got closer, seeing how large and dark the bruise was before she was able to pull her shirt back down over it. "That doesn't look like you just bumped into something…"

"I told you I'm quite all right." She tried to insist again. "I have a tendency to bruise easily. Always looks worse than it is."

"Doesn't answer my question." He answered back, crossing his arms in front of his chest Lunafreya mirroring him as she wrapped her arms around her chest, palm pressed against her ribs. "I've had bruises smaller than that after having my ass handed to me in a few fights…" He paused, brows shooting up. "Someone hit you."

"You're jumping to conclusions, now I kindly ask you to please leave me be. Cindy asked me to come gather some supplies for her to prepare the Regalia."

"What _happened_?" He cut her off, gesturing with an open palmed gestured,

"You are being unkind to prod me like this. I stumbled and fell. A bit embarrassing so-"

"That's not the kind of bruise you get from falling over. I've been in enough fights to know." He cut her off. "Guess it's a good thing the King assigned a Shield to you, the Prince can't even keep the Oracle safe?" Her lips thinned, teeth bearing down on the inside of her lip.

"Noct has nothing to do with this."

"So he _caused_ that? Spoiled Prince…"

"How… What? Where did that connection come from? I had this bruise from before Noctis came to Tenebrae!" she answered, trying to take a step back but bumped into the metal of the shelves, knocking over several objects. "I'm quite all right." She brought her arms back up and folded them over her chest again.

"Who put their hands on you?"

" _I'm fine._ " She insisted.

"How does a sheltered little Princess like you get a bruise like that?" She let out a shuttered breath, and felt her pulse racing and throbbing in her ears. She focused on keeping her breathing level, determined not to show this man her fear. "I've seen it enough. I'm gonna kill him, that damn spoiled-"

"Noct had nothing to do with it!" she snapped, fingers curling as she stepped towards him, lifting her chin and locked eyes.

"Is that what he's trained you to say? Like you're trained to speak all proper, walk straight, pretend to care. But I still can't stand by that pathetic Prince laying a hand on you! All those Lucians don't care! They didn't care about Galahad, the refugees, just like he didn't care he did that to you!"

"You speak of things you do not know."

"And what do you know besides what that… _boy_ trains you-"

"Uldor! Caligo Uldor! He's what happened. What do you _think_ was happening to me under his boot for twelve years?" she snapped. Her vision blurred, eyes burned. Her throat tightened and she bit down on her lip to restrain a scream. "Noct was the _only_ one to try and _stop_ it! I will not abide you blaming him. Call me a sheltered Princess, throw it in my face I did not walk along the war-torn streets, call me useless, mock my title, my _pretty little powers_. But I will _not_ have you accuse Noctis of lifting a hand to me."

"Why would Caligo do that? Hard to dangle you in front of everyone like a treat if you're too injured to move." She shook her head at him, side stepping so he was no longer blocking the path between her and the door and nearly bumped into Noctis who was running towards them, followed by Crowe, Ignis, and Gladiolus.

"Just the man I want to see, what the hell is she going on about?" Nyx asked, his brows furrowed as he pointed at Lunafreya. "How long as she been hiding a giant bruise like that?" Noctis walked past Nyx, reaching for Lunafeya's clasped hands, placing himself between her and Nyx.

"You all right?" he asked, she nodded while looking past Noctis to keep her eyes firmly locked on the man. "I told you It was Caligo Uldor, now that you have the answer to your question please leave me be." She requested. Nyx opened his mouth but quickly clamped it, lip curling when Noctis turned around to stare at him. His eyes looked at everyone watching them before walking away. He kicked a wrench in his path, cursing loudly and left the garage.

"Caligo? The Brigadier General?" Gladiolus asked. Lunafreya's eyes flickered between Noctis and the others, and took a step back from the Prince and pulled her hands back. "What about him?"

"I'm… gonna go check on the big Ox before he kicks everything in Hammerhead and breaks his foot." Crowe remarked, lips pulling back in a forced smile, giving Lunafreya a thumbs up and left the garage.

"I'll give her some backup." Gladiolus added, and walked after Crowe.

"If you're unharmed my Lady I will take my leave as well. Someone needs to be voice of reason in that trio of impulsive anger." Ignis added, and turned to leave after getting a short nod.

"You all right?" Noctis asked again once he was alone with her. Her nod shifted into a shaking of her head, her hands seeking the front of his shirt and she leaned in against him. "What happened?" He reached around her, a hand weaving into her hair, the other rubbing her back between her shoulders, feeling them begin to shake beneath his palm.

***  
"Nyx!" Crowe shouted as she followed him. He stopped, letting her catch up to him. "Care to share with the class what the fuck that was about?"

"You ever take a second to pay attention to your charge, _Shield_? Her ribs look like she was hit by car." He answered her.

"So you yelled at her?!" Crowe answered,

"Okay I'll admit I… overreacted a little."

"A little?!" Neither paid attention as Ignis made a quiet excuse of speaking to Regis.

"Fine, I was an ass. I just thought… that Prince Noctis may have had something to do with it." He answered back, and found himself eye-level with the other Shield,

"You think _what_?!" Gladiolus snapped, and hardly flinched before he felt Gladiolus's fist impact his cheek, sending a sharp numbness across his face and down his neck.

"Oh come _on_! You really had to turn scaring the shit out of our Oracle into a dick measuring contest!" Crowe shouted as the two men immediately began to brawl. "Oh for _fuck's_ sake!" She threw her hands up, and decided to let them kick eachother's asses, making a mental note to ensure Lunafreya wouldn't heal them with her bleeding heart, and would tie her to a chair if necessary. She found Ignis talking with Prompto who had been standing near the Regalia talking to Cindy, with an unknown measure of success. "Please tell me you two are able to keep your testosterone in check," she complained as she approached them.

"Should we be worried about them?" Ignis asked, looking up at the two men who had drawn the attention of everyone at the garage. Prompto's attention had finally been diverted from Cindy, and instead to the eyepiece of his camera,

"Naw man, this is great! I can lorde this over them forever!" He answered his friend.

"Well if they kill each other that'll save me a lot of work."

"What are they beating each other senseless over? Heard lots of shouting earlier."

"Was a little confusing. Nyx and Luna were shouting at each other, Nyx stormed off like a todder, then insinuated Noctis had something to do with a bruise on Luna, and they went at each other." She explained. "Though she shouted something about Caligo. You're a smart guy, you piece together this mystery yet?" She asked, lightly punching Ignis on the arm.

"It is no mystery," he rubbed the offended spot. "I would say it is not my place to discuss, but it seems that things are no longer secret to anyone." He explained to Crowe about Lunafreya's life in Tenebrae. He hoped that Gladiolus would eventually stop getting into fights at every opportunity, and wondered why the man was so temperamental as of late.

"Well shit. I'd punch Nyx's face in too if I was the mullet. If he's still in one piece I owe him a punch myself."

"I do think it prudent we all stop fighting… we _do_ need to work as a team, and Sir Nyx is the King's Shield after all. Speaking of," he turned, and saw Regis approaching the fight, Cid laughing from his chair.

"Should we get tickets to the show?" Prompto asked. Ignis adjusted his glasses and nodded, and even Cindy followed the pair across the lot where Regis's booming voice carried across the entirety of Hammerhaed.

"Enough! Nyx Ulric, Gladiolus Amicitia, you both will stand down _immediately._ " The two fighting men froze, quickly letting the other go and standing straight, bowing to their King. "What is this foolish nonsense? You are both protectors of my family, we have enough enemies to fight." He admonished, and both men remained bowed low, neither daring the risk of looking their King in the face. Noctis had emerged from the garaged shadowed by Lunafreya, and Cindy took her place next to Cid with a grin on her face, whispering something to her grandfather who swatted at her arm in reply. Both men stumbled through apologies but were forestalled by Regis's hand held up, insisting that they both stand up and meet him like men. "I will not have the Shields protecting my family squabbling amongst each other like children. Do you understand?"

"Yes your Majesty." They spoke, bowing their heads again. Regis turned from them towards Cid, trying to ignore the amused grin on the man's face. Regis sat with a groan, determined not to greet his old friend's mocking gaze and rubbed his bad knee, mumbling something to Cid that wiped the grin from his face and instead dropped him into conversation.

"Damn Gladio, next time leave some for me. I owed him a hell of a punch, but that just wouldn't be fair." Noctis remarked, looking at Nyx matching set of swollen bruised eyes, swollen bloody nose, split lip, swollen hand, and likely numerous other bruises hidden beneath his clothing.

"We've had enough of fighting Nocits." Lunafreya remarked, and stepped forward. "Here," she reached up to Gladiolus, her fingertips holding a faint golden glow. The Shield wanted to insist he didn't need her light but wanted to give her a measure of control and allowed her too soothe his injuries and he felt as if the fight happened a few days ago, rather than a few seconds. He smiled and nodded at her when she pulled back, and she returned his smile before turning to Nyx, hesitating for a moment before offering him her light.

"I was kinda owed this." He admitted, holding up his hand. "I should learn to watch my mouth. Just take care of yourself okay?" he asked, and gestured at her ribs. Her smile faltered and a palm guarded her ribs.

"Yourself as well Sir Nyx." She answered. He bowed his head to her and began to walk away. Lunafreya sighed, rubbing her face roughly with her palms, and flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning to the source of the touch,

"Hey you okay?" Crowe asked. Lunafreya nodded and walked towards the trailer, followed by Noctis and suggested Crowe get herself a

"I'm all right. This has been a long day." She stated, and walked towards the trailer followed by Noctis, Crowe understanding that the young woman didn't want more company.

* * *

So I hope Nyx's reaction doesn't seem random. My thoughts are that while he's trying to be grateful for the chance given to him by Regis, he's still bitter about the fall of Galahad, the existence of the wall, and now traumatized at the loss of his second home and all that came with that.


	14. Into the Light

Hey guys! Managed to get another chapter up within 7 days. Enjoy!

* * *

Lunafreya clicked the trailer door carefully behind her as she stepped inside. Noctis reached for the handle when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see his father standing behind him, free hand on his cane. He took his foot off the bottom step of the trailer to turn and face his father, gesturing to the folding chairs outside so he could get off his bad leg.

"Thoughtful of you son." He sat down, and gestured for Noctis to sit in the other chair. The Prince frowned at the trailer door for a moment before following his father's hand and sitting next to him.

"How is our dear Luna?" he asked.

"I was gonna go check on her." He answered, unsure how much Lunafreya would feel comfortable with him revealing with everything already that had just been exposed to air. He knew that his father always held a fatherly fondness for the girl they visited in Tenebrae, and felt bad falling back to his old withdrawn ways. "A little shaken up." He added after a pause. "Your new Shield seems a little…"

"Rough around the edges." Regis supplied with the space of Noctis's hesitation. "Please remember Noctis that Sir Nyx Ulric hails from Galahad."

"So that gives him a right to scare the shit outta Luna?" Noctis asked, and then bit the corner of his lip and began bouncing his bad leg. "I get he doesn't really trust us but is someone like that really the best person to pick to protect you?"

"I understand your concern Noctis, but please understand my position. Many have thought… ill, of my treatment of the situation in Lucis and neighboring nations." Regis admonished. Noctis had discussed this with his father before, and at times with Ignis. But it had always felt like a faraway concept, a danger separated buy the Insomnian wall.

"Not your fault the Nifs like to burn everything to the ground."

"It is… far more complicated than that. But by making the Galahadans my Glaives… I was trying to show that I do indeed care for Citizens outside of Insomnia, and trust foreigners. That those of Nifleheim have not left a bitter taste on my tongue for all outside of our borders."

"So you made that bull-headed jackass-"

"Noctis. He is the King's Shield and as such I expect you to show him the respect you would give one of that station."

"He is _not_ Clarus." Noctis ground out. Clenching his teeth and dodging his father's gaze." He could not picture a man who could hold the honor and intimidation of his friend's father.

"He turned his back on his countrymen to honor his vows as a Glaive, and followed Clarus's final order to spirit me from the Citadel. If that does not earn him some measure of honor, then I not do know what else he could do. I plan to have words with the man for how he treated Luna. But I must ask, do you know what happened?"

"Yeah. Nyx noticed a bruise on her ribs and long story short accused me of being the cause." Regis exhaled sharply though his nose, closing his eyes for a moment and kneading his knee roughly with his fingertips. Noctis let the words hang for a moment, hoping letting the accusation hang would clue his father in to how everyone got so angry so quickly. "And she told him that it was Caligo Uldor." He explained.

"Damn." Regis sighed under his breath. He knew Caligo was a monster. He recalled the year Noctis returned form a trip to Tenebrae demanding they invade and drive out the Nifs after an incident with a soldier beating his dear friend. His son had refused to talk to him for many days after attempting to explain the corner he was painted into in regards to the situation with Nifleheim. He had never managed to shake that image of Lunafreya slipping her hand out of his to stay behind in Tenebrae as her home burned behind her and her brother screamed his name. "I have yet to forgive myself for her remaining in their clutches when I spirited you away from the Manor… I have as strong a hand in her abuse as they." He admitted, and Noctis jerked upright, staring at his father, silence hanging between them.

"You aren't those bastards! I know I… I know I was not always nice whenever we talked about Luna… but you aren't Caligo. I don't blame you…" Noctis offered, wracking through his memories for any harsh words and accusations he may have thrown to his father in the past.

"Is she in much pain?" Regis asked.

"She says she's okay, just tender." Noctis answered after a pause, gripping his knee to try and force his leg to stop bouncing before he aggravated the pinpricks starting in his lower back.

"Go check on her. Just… we have enough enemies. I wish not for discourse amongst our own ranks, we have so few allies we need every one we can get. I know you distrust Sir Ulric, and he hasn't made a very good case for himself. But I assure you, he is an honorable man." He paused for a moment and held up a palm, "I'm not a fool Noctis. I know you were as eager to attack Nyx as Gladiolus had. You may not talk to me as much as you did as a child, but I still know my son."

"Dad…" Regis smiled, standing with a groan, letting out a slow sigh. Noctis stood too and walked up to him, and threw his arms around him. "I love you dad… I know I suck and don't really say it enough."

"Love you too son. And please… show our Lady Luna proper decorum now," he smirked, patting Noctis roughly on the shoulder before walking away from the trailer. The Prince sighed, running a hand through his hair and stepped up to pull on the trailer handle half expecting to find it locked but the handle gave way and the heavy door swung open. He swore loudly when the sharp corner of the metal door struck the knee on the top step, Lunafreya's voice calling from inside.

"Huh?" he groaned, cursing and rubbing at the abrasion on his knee.

"I asked if you're all right." She repeated, moving so he could see her from the door.

"What a coincidence, was gonna ask you the same thing." He answered. He stood up, climbing the stairs and clicked the door shut behind him, and after a moment of hesitation turned the lock. He straightened his clothes to occupy his hands.

"I am now." She answered. "So I suppose everything that happened in Tenebrae is no longer secret." She admitted, and sat down on the trailer's pull-out bed that had not been stored back into a couch, the sheets atop it messily pulled straight in the illusion of being made. Noctis couldn't help but wonder when the last time his father made his own bed was, and now had the image of watching his old man stare at the sheets like they were a complex puzzle.

"Well they know about this one time. Not sure if they implied it happening more than once. And my dad's gonna go talk to Nyx."

"He was just trying to help in his own odd way I suppose." Lunafreya offered with a shrug, looking up from her clasped hands when she saw Noctis walking towards her. He sat down next to her, grimacing at how loudly it creaked.

"My dad told me to make sure I show you proper decorum," he teased with a smile, bouncing slightly to make the cheap springs creak. "pretty sure this bed would make anything else impossible." Lunafreya giggled, placing her palms on the edge of the bed and bouncing once to make it creak.

"They'll hear this creaking assume the worst when in reality we're just bouncing on the bed like children."

"Seriously, I've never heard something creak like this. Is this what other beds are like?" she mused, Nyx's voice calling her _sheltered Princess_ echoed in her ears for a moment but the loud creaking of the bed as Noctis threw himself back on it pulled her attention. He sighed, resting his palms beneath his head.

"But comfortable in a really weird way."

"I think you're just comfortable no matter where you're sleeping as long as you can sleep." She offered, leaning back and turning her head to look at him over her shoulder. She smiled to match his own, a yelp changed into giggling when he pulled her wrist causing her to fall back on the pull-out bed beside him. She shifted so she could pull her legs up, and quickly turned on her side to face him.

"That's better. Now I know why I found this loud as hell bed comfortable." He grinned, and shifted up on his elbow so he could reach over with one hand, lightly brushing her cheek.

"Hmm…" she hummed, closing her eyes at his touch, tilting her head into his hand. "I think I'm realizing what you see in this bed… I suppose it does suddenly feel quite comfortable." She offered back to him. She kept her eyes close and heard the springs creak some more as he leaned over her, and smiled against his lips when they brushed against hers. His fingers danced along her cheek, tracing down her neck and back up behind her ear, his lips ghosting over her skin to nip at her neck. She lifted her arms around Noctis's shoulders, her fingertips tickling his skin causing him to scrunch his shoulder and pull back.

"Hey!"

"I had to test if you're still ticklish," she answered with smile, and tapped at the tip of his nose causing him to jerk back and scrunch his nose. "It's far too adorable to resist." She continued and sat up slightly to meet his lips and he humored her for a moment,

"Well now things are unfair." He pouted. She furrowed her brow and tilted her head slightly but got her answer with his fingertips going to a spot high on her ribs, her quiet voice falling into a fit of giggles. She brought her knees up and tried to turn on her side to pin his arm, batting at his hands. He wiggled his arm out from under her and tried for her stomach, and she curled in on herself even more,

"You're terrible!" she managed between giggles. He drew back, letting her catch her breath. She looked up at him with narrow eyes, but couldn't help laughing again.

"I don't think I've heard you laugh like that since we were kids." Her smile faltered but remained, and she reached out to brush some of his hair from his face, letting out a short laugh as it merely came back to place.

"You're the only one who can get me to laugh like that. But you cheated that time."

"It worked." He insisted, "so I don't call that cheating."

"Okay, I suppose I can let you have this one." He smiled and leaned down for a kiss, Lunafreya rolling onto her back to make it easier, wincing as the bed groaned with their movements. "I do hope no one things we are doing something… untoward, with all the giggling and creaking." She remaked. Noctis pulled back expecting to find her bearing a distant and tensed expression, and lifted his brows when instead he saw her with a small smile. He returned it, and leaned down to taste her smile. She seemed as eager as him, and was the first one to prod his bottom lip with her tongue, and he responded with enthusiasm. He let his weight press down on her, getting a small sigh from her, her breath tickling his cheek.

They wanted to lose themselves in each other, grasp at this moment of solitude behind a locked door but the creaking of the bed, and the presence of people milling about the lot just outside led Lunafreya to push gently on Noctis's chest, cupping his cheek when he pulled back from her. She traced his cheekbone with her thumb, another smile pulling at her lips.

"I love you." She stated simply, and blushed at the unprovoked endearment.

"I love you too." He smiled at her, and leaned down for one more quick kiss. He rolled over and she nestled up against his shoulder, his arm resting around her. His thumb brushed against her hip as he stared up at the ceiling of the trailer and turned his head when he felt her lips against the crook of his neck.

"If only everyone wasn't just outside…" Noctis whispered to her, and smirked at the flush it brought to Lunafreya's cheeks.

"Is that you talking, or Cindy's clothing I'm still in?" she inquired, and clicked her tongue. "These clothes have influenced you," she lifted her hand from its place against his chest, pointing a finger in the air and pouting before tapping him on the nose, "I knew that terrible Oracle was a bad influence on you." She tisked again, patting at his chest.

"You're right. Terrible influence. The only thing I can think of is to take those thought-disrupting clothes off you." He teased.

"Perhaps tonight when all is dark and the others sleep we can find an excuse to steal this trailer for the evening you can remove these offending clothes." She winked at him. "As long as we collapse onto the _actual_ bed, rather than this creaking monstrosity."

"I guess I can't argue with your logic." He answered her, but pouted his bottom lip anyway. "Speaking of being logical… I guess at some point I should talk to my dad about the next royal arm so we know where we're going next.

"I feel quite embarrassed that of all the things I studied, I seemed to have forgotten to read on the locations of these arms rather than merely on the history of them." She admonished herself.

"Hey… the royal arms are on my end. And we have Iggy helping us too. Actually… he probably knows all the royal tombs." He suggested. But he still wanted to talk to his father about it. He wondered if he would accompany him to the second royal arm or remain here in Hammerhead. _He already did it once. Now it's your turn._ He reminded himself. He thought of his father's brace, and his newly butchered hand, and put away any thought of asking for him to join them. "Did I ever thank you for healing my dad's hand?" he asked her.

"I wasn't going to let him be hurting…" she offered back, unsure herself on the answer to his question but felt it mattered little.

"Still." He answered back. His began to brush her side with his fingers, her shirt bunching up. "How are you so cold when it's so warm out?" he asked, feeling her skin beneath his touch. She laughed lightly, and shrugged.

"I could give you an actual answer, but I sense that you would prefer something cheesy and romantic." She answered back.

"I thought I was the cheesy one?"

"Guess you're rubbing off on me a bit."

"I should go talk to my dad so I can talk to Ignis about what our next step should be… then we can all get a good night's sleep and leave first thing in the morning." He sighed, sitting up. Lunafreya whined for a moment when his arm left her, and she fussed with her shirt to cover herself back up.

"Well now I really am cold." She stated. He turned to her as she sat up beside him and he cupped her cheeks, his thumbs rubbing small circles just behind her ears,

"Well I will have to take care of that later tonight." He leaned in to kiss her, and felt the heat rising in her cheeks beneath his fingertips as he traced the line of her cheekbones.

"I shall bear the discomfort meanwhile." She whispered when he pulled back. He gave her one more quick kiss before standing from the bed, giving her a moment to adjust her clothing before exiting the trailer. "I think I shall change into the sleep clothes I purchased in Lestallum. I've been in these clothes for two days now." The words _sheltered Princess_ echoed in her mind again as she wondered how she could wash the clothing before turning them to Cindy. The staff at the manor always laundered her clothing for her. Even a child, before being relegated to her room for most of her passing days, the Manor staff would launder her clothes and put them away. She suddenly felt quite foolish for not knowing such a basic task.

The Tomb of the Conqueror, to obtain the Axe of the Conqueror, was their next destination. The sun was sinking behind the horizon, Hammerhead's lights coming on to bathe the garage in dim light. Everyone sat together, enjoying the cool evening air to talk and play cards. Cindy had even managed to cease her endless tinkering to join them. Two decks of cards had been located and counted, and despite a missing card from the older deck they split into two groups to play poker, betting the gil they had in such small amounts no one felt they were actually risking anything, merely making the game more fun.

"You guys are killin' me!" Prompto complained as he swapped out two cards, chewing on his bottom lip and squinting at his cards.

"You have the worst poker-face. Take a lesson from this one over here." Gladiolus thumbed at Lunafreya.

"I knew there was a reason I wanted to play poker with you, kickin' all our asses! For once, a challenge!" Crowe added, playfully nudging Lunafreya. The Oracle shrugged, and couldn't help but smile. The small pile of gil before her was larger than anyone else in her group.

"I heard that!" Nyx shouted from his spot where he was playing with his King, Cid, Cindy, and Ignis.

"Oh come on, all of you sucked at poker. How do you think I afforded my bike?" she quipped back. He narrowed his eyes at her, and she blew him a kiss which caused an eyeroll and a sigh before he turned back to his game. "Awe, it's okay big guy. Maybe over there you stand a chance."

"Nope!" Cindy chimed in, "My pappy's got us all licked good." Crowe let out another barking laugh.

"You're an ass, Crowe." Pryna, who had started following Lunafreya after waking up from an afternoon nap, yapped, head lifting and ears tilting.

"See Nyx, even the dog agrees it's fun to see you getting your ass kicked!" She answered back. Pryna yapped again, and Lunafreya looked at her,

"She's normally a very quiet dog." She remarked, and reached over to ruffle the fur at her scruff, and saw her fur beginning to stand on end. "Pryna? Settle girl… it's okay."

"It's getting dark, maybe she's just hearing the daemons?" Prompto offered. "It's okay Pryna, come here," Prompto patted at his lap, beckoning the dog. Pryna looked up at her mistress who made a _go ahead_ gesture with her palm and she trotted over to Prompto, her ears pinned as she settled next to him with a low growl resting in her throat.

"Regis," she called, feeling somewhat awkward referring to the Lucian King by his first name but knew he would accept no other address from her. He turned his head to her, acknowledging her with a _yes?_ "Was she doing this last night when we were all in Lestallum?" He hesitated to answer her, and looked at Cid and Cindy who each shrugged in turn with a shake of their heads.

"I can barely hear that dog barkin' half a meter from my face. I'm not the best one to ask." Nyx and Cindy both answered they weren't paying enough attention to recall if the dog had barked as darkness settled, Regis admitting the same. Lunafreya let out a small _hmm_ , but dismissed it, assuming daemonic noises were louder here than back in Tenebrae where the solar-powered repelling lights spanned much of the property around the Manor. Another low rumble caught her attention, but it didn't sound like Pryna's usually soft growl. Prompto looked down at the dog who had her ears pinned, but was silently fixated on something in the distance.

"Pryna?" The high-pitched whine of metal meeting stone sent the group collectively scrambling to their feet. Nyx helped pull Regis and Cid to their feet shouting for them to get inside, Cindy promising to watch over them. Lunafreya was trembling on her feet, leaning her weight on the trident held in her left hand, groaning as her right was held out before her, arm straining as she tried to hold up her shield against the cleaver that came down against it. Her shield shattered into a series of sparks, the magic sounding like broken glass as it faded with each piece that fell to the pavement.

"Thanks Luna!" Noctis shouted, summoning his engine blade and warping towards the large red beast that was roaring in annoyance that its cleaver had failed to find blood.

"How the shit can this thing be here?!" Crowe balked, summoning fireballs in either had. She saw two daemons that resembled larger versions of her hand-held flames with faces were hovering just beyond the edge of the garage's lights, "the other fuckers can't come into the light, why can this thing?!" Noctis couldn't hear her voice over the roar of the beast, his blade sunk deep into its shoulder as he struggled to maintain his grip, realizing how far from the ground he was. He tugged at his blade, but it was buried deep and likely wasn't going anywhere.

"Damn!" He cursed, and summoned the ethereal blade, feeling the odd magnetic pull in his palm before the unnaturally cold metal feel greeted his palm and the Sword of the Wise was in his hand. He used it to warp safely to the ground nearly four meters down. He felt vaguely dizzy from the warp, reminding him of when he first learned how. He recovered fast enough, "Ignis! Instructions!" he shouted, not sure how the hell to take this thing down. Prompto's guns barked as he aimed for the same shoulder joint where the Engine Blade remained impaled. "Ignis?!" Noctis asked again.

"Gotta agree with Noct here Specs, could use some advice! I only got four shots left, the rest of my spare clips are in my bags!" Prompto bounced back and forth, wondering where to aim on this thing.

"Aim for the shoulder holding the cleaver! Noct has one shoulder limited, take out the other and it'll be weaponless!" Ignis shouted after a short delay. Prompto fired, a small hole appearing in the daemon's shoulder. Noctis saw his opening and warped at the daemon again, aiming for Prompto's fresh bullet hole, but the giant stepped back, rolling his shoulder causing Noctis to soar past him, impacting the pavement four meters away.

"Noct!" Lunafreya shouted, and ran off towards her Prince ignoring the warnings from the others in the group. Crowe cursed, chasing after her, and tackling her to the ground as the giant swung it's cleaver again. Their friends took advantage of the daemon's distraction to focus their attacks on the shoulder Prompto shot, drawing its attention back to them to allow the two women to scramble to the Prince who was lying still on the ground. "Noct…" Lunafreya whispered urgently as she fell to her knees beside him, hands lighting up,

"Come on Sparklefingers, this is a pretty good time to live up to your name." Crowe pat her firmly on the back as she reached to her unconscious Prince. He was covered in abrasions, deep bruises already blossoming on his skin. "He _really_ overshot his target." She commented as she watched the faint glow that poured through the young man, his slow breathing giving way to a hacking cough, arm swiping around causing both women to pull back, Lunafreya falling onto her bottom.

"Whoa! Noct! It's me!" she shouted quickly and he sat up, rubbing at his eyes.

"Ugh… what?" he looked from her to the scene behind them, "shit!" he scrambled to his feet and warped back to his friends to take another shot at the giant's shoulder.

"Wow. That was impressive." Crowe answered.

"I fear he'll be feeling it later."

"Well if he helps kick that thing's ass before he cuts Hammerhead in two, I think we can call it even." Lunafreya nodded at her shield and ran back to the fray. Noctis's second attempt at warping the Sword of the Wise into the giant's shoulder was more successful, and he was able to vanish it and summon it back into his hand, warping to the ground next to Ignis, panting heavily as he wiped a hand under his nose, seeing the smear of red on his hand. He remembered warning words from his father and cursed, wishing he had the sense to vanish his Engine Blade rather than leave it impaled and risk the toll of the ethereal weapon.

"Gladio, I can't use this weapon much longer,"

"Okay you hold point, I got this!" His shield bragged, thumping on his chest.

"Remember the last time we all got too cocky?" Ignis snarked, "It's having more trouble lifting that cleaver, keep focusing on that arm!" He directed. "I'll hold it's attention, you go for the shoulder Gladio!" Ignis called. The large man charged forward, bellowing as he poured all his strength into a momentous swing of his great sword. The daemon closed its fist around the sword, lifting it up with Gladiolus still clinging to the hilt, his grip slipping as he dangled in the air and hit the ground with a deep grunt. He felt something warm dripping onto his skin and looked up to see blood oozing from the daemon's fist before it raised it up with a deep croaking groan and the Shield shouted as he rolled to the side, and looked up to source the sound of grinding glass.

" _Move_." Lunafreya pleaded, straining to hold her Shield against the immense strength of the daemon, falling to her hands and knees with a grunt once the man finally rolled away and the hilt of his great sword burrowed several centimeters into the pavement where his chest had just been.

"Well. This sucks." He remarked, scrambling to his feet and backing up multiple steps, staring at his sword as the daemon left it embedded into the ground and stepped towards Noctis.

"What did I tell you about being cocky?" Ignis shot back. He stared the giant's arm where Noctis's Engine Blade remained burrowed, "Why isn't it pulling it out? It must be immensely painful."

"Not painful enough to stop it from slamming my sword into the ground like a damn tent spike!" Gladiolus barked back.

"Noct! Do you have any fire stored in your pocket?"

"Not so lucky!" the Prince called back. Crowe swallowed, looking at her palm and summoned the flames to her hand,

"Everyone back up! Time to light some shit on fire!" she called. She looked at the sword, and an idea came to mind. "Luna, think you can hold a shield around the daemon's shoulder once I throw my fire there?" she asked.

"I've never tried something like that before." The Oracle answered honestly.

"Well, let's take your badassery for a test drive. On my mark!" she saw Lunafreya brace herself with her trident, right hand reaching out before her and nodded to her Shield. Crowe counted, and threw her fireball, Lunafreya summoning a shield. It trapped the fire around the Engine Blade, and after several seconds burnt meat began to waft over the royal retinue. "It's working!"

"What's working?" Ignis inquired,

"Look at the sword!" the metal of the Engine Blade was glowing red, and Crowe barked a laugh, "hah!"

"I can't hold this much longer!" Lunafreya shouted as she struggled to retain her strength and focus on the daemon as it began to thrash and scream, its cleaver dropped to the ground as it madly bat at the shield holding Crowe's fire against the shoulder. After several more seconds Lunafreya's form crumbled to the ground, her shield vanishing, and the flames spread and vanished now free of the spell. The daemon was wailing, the flesh at its shoulder peeling away in places, skin blackened patches of orange and red burns. It grabbed at the now white-hot metal, and wailed again as it curled its finger and threw the offending object away, staggering back with a whine.

"Get the cleaver!" Ignis shouted. Noctis ignored the command, rushing to Lunafreya, shaking her shoulder while allingc her name, getting no response.

"Nyx! Help me!" Gladiolus bellowed as he charged for the oversized object that felt as if it weighed two hundred kilograms. The two men together dragged it away while Noctis lifted Lunafreya in his arms and ran towards the garage, tailed by Crowe.

"I'll watch over her, they need you." She insisted, pointing as Ignis, Gladiolus, and Nyx prepared their next assault.

"But-"

"I'm her Shield, it's my job to protect her. You're the Prince, you protect your people now get your ass out there!" Noctis paused for a moment and nodded. He looked at his still glowing Engine Blade and grunted in frustration, calling forth the Sword of the Wise, wincing at the cold feel and the sudden fatigue in his sword arm.

Gladiolus had freed his great sword from the pavement and took point between Nyx and Ignis. Noctis attacked the daemon's right leg, sinking the blade into the flesh and was kicked back for his efforts, grunting as he hit the ground, gasping for air. Gladiolus forced himself to momentarily put his charge to the back of his mind and he swiped at the daemon's left leg to antagonize it to attempt a defense with its right arm, Nyx and Ignis focusing their attacks on the burns. Caught between defending the painful shoulder and the leg Gladiolus was swinging for the daemon staggered, trying to swipe with its left arm resulting in a clumsy barrage of limbs. Ignis threw his daggers at the daemons face in the chaos, the blades sinking deep. It wailed, collapsing to its knees trying to claw at its face, taring deep gouges into its own flesh as it reached desperately for the slim weapons with thick fingers. Gladiolus shifted his weight, turning his hips to force all his momentum into his upper body and tore through the daemon's neck, blood spraying across the pavement and the fighters. It took a half-step back before collaping to the ground, a gurgling hiss escaping its throat and all movement ceased.

"Well… that…" Nyx panted, "sucked ass. May wanna make sure your royals are still breathing." He added, thumbing over to where Noctis was curled on his side, coughing and wheezing.

"Shit!" He ran over to Noctis, patting him on the back, "Hey tough-stuff. We kicked it's ass!" Noctis held up a shaky arm to give a thumbs up, groaning as he dropped it back to the ground.

"Luna?" he whispered, still trying to find his voice between gasps for breath. Gladiolus looked over his shoulder and saw her sitting up with Crowe's help, the pair exchanging words.

"I think she'll be fine." He paused for a moment and looked around, realizing he hadn't heard Prompto bragging about their victory or singing or doing something else that would feel grating so soon after such a difficult fight. He was imaging his sore joints in the morning and wasn't looking forward to it. His eyes found Prompto's form lying several feet away and cursed loudly before running over to him, Ignis having apparently noticed as well and charged at the gunman. "He okay?" he asked, watching tapping his hand against his palm as Ignis looked him over,

"I think he hit his head." Ignis remarked. "I don't know how long he's been out."

"Can it be serous?"

"Any loss of consciousness can be indicative of an injury. Would be most prudent to treat him assuming the worst so we do not take any unnecessary risk"

"Maybe Luna can fix the worst of it. I mean, she's fixed us up good before." Gladiolus suggested. Ignis nodded, hoping he wasn't asking too much of her after seeing the way she collapsed from holding up that fire-containing shield that allowed them to fell the beast. Gladiolus was quick to run over to where Crowe was looking over the young woman. "We need your help." He directed to Lunafreya.

"You shittin' me? In her state? She needs rest!"

"I appreciate your concern but I am quite capable of deciding for myself." Lunafreya offered and groaned, pressing a palm to her forehead. "What's wrong?"

"Prompto's out. We think he wanged his head pretty good. Can you help him?" Gladiolus asked. Crowe let out a short exhale through her nose, clearly uncomfortable but kept her comments to herself. Lunafreya nodded and slowly got to her feet, ignoring Gladiolus's extended hand to help her up. He led her over to their unconscious friend, Ignis having located the offending injury with a large swollen lump behind the gunman's left ear.

"I am sorry to impose on you Lady Lunafreya, but I fear how severe the injury may be. We could bring him to Lestallum but that drive is very far."

"I'll see what I can do." She folded her hands in her lap for a moment, her eyes closed and head bowed as she prayed to the Six to grant her the strength to give him her light. Noctis had made his way over their side, arm wrapped around his chest as he continued to pant and try to catch his breath. He wanted to protest her using her light after she had been pushed so far beyond her limits, but one look at Prompto told him that it was a necessary risk. Crowe had walked over to them, and she too realized the gravity of the situation.

"Come on Sparkles, you can do it." She encouraged, and Noctis chewed on his bottom lip, drumming his fingers on his arm not trusting himself to speak. Lunafreya's fingers glowed, her eyes were closed as she reached to cup Prompto's face and whisper her prayer, her forehead resting against his. After several seconds Prompto began to groan and Lunafreya pulled back, swaying but Noctis was quick to kneel beside her and help hold her upright. Prompto groaned, and made what sounded like at attempt at speech, his eyes blearily looking around him as if searching for a face.

"Man you got your ass kicked in Lestallum and now here? Guess I gotta train your ass more!" Gladiolus barked, a smile plastered on his face.

"You okay dude?" Noctis asked, giving Lunafreya's arm a squeeze to extend the question to her, and she pat his hand in response.

"Ugh… I feel like someone stepped on my head." He answered.

"You kinda look like it." Noctis answered him, Gladiolus expressing his agreement.

"Ugh… did we manage to beat it or are we all dead and talking from the other-side?" he asked. Ignis chuckled,

"Indeed the daemon is gone and Hammerhead is safe." He again pondered the question how the daemon was able to step into the light. "Let's get you to the trailer so you can sleep you need some rest after that blow to the head." He added.

"I thought you weren't supposed to sleep with a head injury?" Noctis asked.

"On the contrary, sleep is the best thing for it. So long as you have people nearby to monitor you. Sleeping alone rather than seeking medical help is what's dangerous." Ignis explained, and fell into technobabble that left the others confused enough to cut off his ramble. Gladiolus helped his friend stand, hooking an arm behind him for support. Ignis followed, agreeing to be Prompto's watch while he slept off the worst of his injury.

Noctis stood with a groan, wrapping an arm around his ribs and reached a hand to Lunafreya to help her stand. She reached up to his face without a word, and his initial thought to tell her to save her strength was stalled when her fingers touched his cheeks and some of the pain in his chest faded.

"I'm afraid I cannot do much more…" she admitted, biting down on the corner of her lip.

"You used a lot of magic… maybe Cid has an energy drink lying around so I can make you an Ether." Lunafreya hesitated and nodded.

"Gotta agree with the Prince you were pretty bad- _ass_!" Crowe cheered. Regis and Cid left the garage, Cindy standing just inside the doors. Inquiries were passed, and everyone assured each other they were okay. Regis walked up to Noctis, placing both hands on his shoulders and offering him a sad smile. He could see in his eyes the toll the Sword of the Wise had cost. He still had a trickle of blood coming out his nose which his son had been wiping on the back of his sleeve, the dark circles around his eyes remining him of the ones that surrounded his own.

"I'm so proud of you son…" he pulled Noctis into his arms, and after the barest moment of tension Noctis lifted his arms and returned his father's embrace.


	15. Fishing

So in hindsight I discovered I crossed the locations of the Tomb of the Wise and Tomb of the Conqueror. Tomb of the Conqueror is located in Keycatrich Trench. Instead of spending several hours finding ever reference that I need to fix and re-posting old chapters, I'm just going to keep the two swapped. Apologies.

I also apologize for the delay. I do want to try and be better at keeping a weekly update schedule, just got a bit busy trying to juggle working full time with having an 8-month old. Despite my delay and silly mix-up I do hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Noctis crawled into his tent and was surprised to find Lunafreya lying on her side, her eyes tracking him. Most of their retinue had refused her light after she healed Prompto, and encouraged her to go rest. Prompto was given the bed inside the trailer, Nyx and Regis promising to keep a close watch on him overnight. Lunafreya had agreed to go rest with the promise Noctis would wake her and bring her up to speed about the discussions he would have with everyone about their next step.

"Hey figured you'd be asleep." He remarked.

"Trouble sleeping." She admitted with a shrug. "And I couldn't quite get my mind off wondering where we're heading next. And did Crowe get the answers she was looking for?"

"Crowe wanted to talk to my dad alone… "

"I hope she gets her answers."

"We also talked about that daemon attack… how could that thing just walking into Hammerhead, Cid told us the lights he installed were the daemon-repelling kind." Lunafreya sighed, looking into the distance for a moment.

"The bombs were still trapped outside in the dark." She mused, recalling watching them pace the edges where the lights' influence ended. "Maybe this one was just strong enough to tolerate some light? It was no small beast…" she added. She could still feel the ache throughout her body from the fight, and she had been providing assistance from afar. She hoped the light she shared with the others was enough to chase away enough of their own pain.

"We talked about getting Cid some new lights so this doesn't happen again." Noctis answered. He recalled warning stories his father told him of daemons in the dark, and how only special lights were enough to repel them.

"I do wish for Hammerhead to be safe."

"I wonder if all outposts and stuff are having issues… we should make a few pit stops, find out." He suggested. He wanted his people safe. He kneaded his knee, feeling the numbness that was starting in his back, and shooting down his leg in a stubborn ache and gave him something to do with his hands to keep from kneading his fingers. He blew a puff of air at the hair falling in his face and pondered getting back out of the tent to shower away his stress, but decided he lacked the energy and would rather shower in the morning. His free hand fussed his hair out of his eyes.

"I'm sure we we'll have ample opportunity to do so."

"We'll be travelling all over the place for the weapons… we can find outposts and small towns. And next is the Axe, at the Tomb of the Conqueror. It's near that trench where we got the sword, north of a valley. Ignis remembers the names of everything… I was never good at geography." He answered her. She nodded at him, shifting in her sleeping bag to get onto her side. "How are you feeling?" he asked. She shrugged,

"Tired but all right." She answered. She had declined the offer of an ether Regis made to counter her exhaustion, but accepted the potion when he pointed out her bruises and abrasions from when she collapsed. However, it was the reawaked pain in her ribs that enticed her to take the potion. She wondered if the converted energy drink had something to do with her sleeplessness.

"Yeah… I feel like I could sleep for a week."

"If no one rouses you, I would not doubt your ability to sleep for such." She smiled and chuckled lightly when he looked at her with his brow knit, and nose scrunched. Noctis crawled over to her until his hands were on either side of her face, his knees straddling her.

"Well that's not very nice." He pouted his bottom lip at her, and she smiled again,

"Prove me wrong, wake up before me tomorrow without an alarm."

"Okay that's not even fair. You have some internal alarm clock that wakes you up at dawn every day no matter when you go to bed!" he shot back at her and she pushed on his chest in a feigned attempt to get him off of her.

"I doubt that will be the case tonight… I am fairly fatigued after that fight."

"Prove me wrong, sleep past dawn."

"How will you know if you sleep for a week?" she asked, eyes looking off into the distance, knitting her brow and biting down on her bottom lip, "I mean, I suppose I _could_ simply _tell_ you I slept past dawn, you would not know the difference."

"We both know you can't lie to this pretty face." He answered back, and she gave an exaggerated sigh, shaking hear head.

"Too true. But if I distract you…" she shifted and lifted herself up, leaning back against her arms before tilting her head and meeting his lips, her eyes closing. Noctis nearly teased her about his father's prior warning, but managed to keep himself quiet. When he parted from the group to join Lunafreya Regis had remined him to be a gentleman, and had suggested sleeping in the trailer with Prompto, Nyx, and himself. Noctis had explained Lunafreya didn't yet feel safe sleeping alone, and when Regis suggested her Shield being the one to keep her company, Noctis pointed out that the woman was still a stranger to her, and unlikely to make her feel safe. His father's shoulders had dropped at the news, and he felt as if he had manipulated his father despite the fact he was not holding ulterior motives.

 _"I trust you to be a gentleman son, I do wish for Luna to feel safe." Regis's gaze wouldn't meet that of his son, locked down on his hands; he flexed his intact fingers and wondered why, with all the power granted to him via that cursed ring, he had been forced to leave that sweet young girl behind at the Empire's mercy after they had murdered her mother before her._

 _"I will." Noctis promised._

 _"She will warm up to Crowe in time. I recall you and Gladiolus were far from friends when I first assigned him as your Shield."_

 _"She did a good job watching over her during that fight. You see the two of them together? That trick with the fire. Took almost a decade for Gladio to stop making kicking my ass his greatest joy in life, meanwhile Crowe and Luna were badasses their first time fighting together!" Noctis chuckled lightly, and felt his cheeks heat up at he expected to be chided for cursing before his father._

 _"Cindy certainly thought so, she was acting as a child watching an exciting movie."_

 _"The mechanic? She actually talked to someone, like… not about the car or something?" Regis chuckled at the look of genuine confusion on Noctis's face._

 _"She's more that just a mechanic Noct. She reminds me quite a bit of her mother." He sighed, as he thought again of the people he failed as he was forced to pull back the wall to encircle Insomnia. "I never knew Luna could make shields." He continued. Noctis couldn't help but wonder if this ability was tied with her light, or something that emerged as a result of how she constantly had to protect herself._

 _"She's stronger than you think."_

 _"To live under the Empire as long as she did, and emerge with the ability to smile, she surely must be." Noctis shifted in his seat, his leg bouncing._

 _"Yeah."_

 _"I am glad you two make each other happy…"_

Lunafreya's mouth against him drew him back to the present and he left any thought of guilt behind. He rolled off of her onto his side, briefly breaking their kiss getting a whine from her before she shifted closer, slipping a leg between his knees to allow her to press herself against him.

"You know, if you want me up before noon you should let me sleep." He teased, eyes flicking up to meet hers when she pulled back from him. He reached up, cupping her cheek as this thumb played with her earlobe.

"Even if I keep you up, I am sure Ignis will come to wake us to set out at first light so we don't have to risk being caught on the road after dark."

"You want me groggy when trying to collect one of these vampire weapons?" he asked, jutting his bottom lip in a pout, "and here I thought you loved me."

"Vampire weapon?" she cocked a brow, shifting so she was the one leaning over him, and rested her arms on his chest getting a small exhale from Noctis as she leaned her weight on him.

"'Cause it seems to need my blood when I use it." She knit her brows in answer to his reply, reaching a hand to brush her thumb along his cheekbone,

"I thought you had been struck in the face… the nosebleed was from the weapon?"

"You thought I was hit in the face and you didn't try to heal me?" he tisked and pouted again.

"You refused my light! I-"

"I'm teasing!" he countered quickly when he saw how stiff she grew. "You did enough… and Prompto needed you more than me." He answered quickly. "I'm pretty worried about him…" he sighed, then quickly added "I'm not doubting you after you helped him-"

"It's natural to worry. He has Ignis watching over him, and Ignis gives me the impression that Prompto could not be in better hands."

"Speaking of better hands…." He wiggled his fingers at her,

"I thought you had promised your father to be a gentleman?"

"Hence why I'm offering the Princess a massage, what else would a gentleman mean by that?" he asked, tisking at her again. "Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"I learned from the best. Though I suppose I can't argue with a massage…"

"You do seem pretty tense." He replied, and began to hitch himself up, pointing a finger down and twirling it. She took the hint and scooted away from him before turning around, and let out a deep sigh when his hands came down on her shoulders and his thumbs pressed firmly into her back. "Oh wow, your muscles are tight…" he remarked.

"I fell…" she mumbled, drawing her arms in a bit.

"I didn't mean to sound like it was your fault. I just hate seeing you so tense." He frowned at her reaction, and began to roll his thumbs and the heels of his hands against her shoulder blades, working his way up to the nape of her neck and her sigh told him he was on the right track. "Do you need a potion or something?"

"I took one, remember? If I drink more caffeine I won't sleep for a month." She chuckled lightly. She did feel better than immediately after the fight, but knew a good night's rest was something her body needed. She had feared she would be sleeping alone, save for the nightmares that would accompany her. But the knowledge that Noctis had somehow convinced his father of this sleeping arrangement brought her a semblance of peace. Noctis soothed her aches with his fingers, pausing occasionally to press his lips to her neck, sending goosebumps down her arms and temptation through her mind.

"Feeling better?" he asked, his breath tickling her as his tongue pressed gently against her skin,

"Hmm… quite a bit." She whispered, and lolled her head to the side, giving her shoulders a roll. "You're better than any potion would have been." She encouraged him, and the gentle lips on her neck turned into a light graze of teeth. She wanted to warn him about leaving a mark but the touch was gentle and brief, shifting back to lips and tongue as he grazed her gently, before eventually resting against the crook of her neck, arms winding around her waist to pull her flush against him.

"And you give me more energy than Ebony coffee."

"Careful now, I do think your friend Ignis may come rushing to this tent to kick you for such blasphemy. He seemed quite font of the stuff." She answered. She had trouble picturing the bespeckled man doing something as rash as kicking Noctis, but her Prince chuckled nonetheless.

"I won't tell him if you won't"

"It's a deal. I do feel quite a bit more relaxed… and sleep seems to be calling me."

"I thought I gave you more energy than coffee?"

"Typically yes, though your magic fingers have relaxed every muscle in me."

"If only we were more alone…" Noctis whispered, following her motions as she lay on her side, and was quick to shuffle awkwardly so his bedroll was next to hers and he could pull her flush against his chest, an unzipped sleeping bag functioning as a blanket to cover them both.

"If only…" she closed her eyes, focusing on Noctis's steady breathing to quiet the rising anxiety about the voices outside the tent and his arm around her waist was nearly enough to make her forget how lonely her nights once felt. "Love you."

"Love you too." He mumbled. And they drifted off.

 _"Heal him!"_

 _"I'm trying! I've never seen wounds like this!" Lunafreya barked back. Her hands trembled as she reached out to the vaguely humanoid shape on the floor. A face was obscured by a mask, black ooze dripping through joints in the metal_. _His shirt had been torn open, though the misshapen torso made it_ _difficult to know for sure the gender of the victim. The wounds would start as a grey-pink and fade into black, oozing the same thick material as the mask, accompanied by pained moans. She felt fingers curl into her hair, jerking her neck back. She contorted her back, and looked into the face of Caligo Uldor, eyes expressionless, black sliding down his face,_

 _"When did my Princess become so petulant?" the fingers in her hair grew cold, pain flaring across her scalp as his grip tightened, her neck aching as she was jerked again. His mouth opened to speak, but the words were of foreign tongue, slurring into a moan._

 _"Enough Uldor." A familiar voice croaked, and a chill ran through her as her hands reached towards the fist in her hair. The brigadier general looked up, his joints creaking like her semi-metallic victim whose wounds were spreading without her light. "I think I've tested her light enough on this… thing. Perhaps she needs better motivation for her light to truly shine?" he mused, and tapped a pen against his clipboard, the sound high-pitched and echoed in the dark room. The pain in her scalp faded, and she stood in response to Verstael's command. He pointed, and she followed his finger to her bed. She glanced at Verstael, and the pain in her scalp returned._

 _"Does he have to repeat himself?"_

 _"Settle Uldor." Verstael grated, and he pointed again. She looked to the gurney he was pointing at, and slowly walked across the cold floor towards it, Caligo releasing the grip in her hair as she approached it. A tall figure in a white lab coat wearing blue surgical mask, gloves, and cap emerged from the dark wall. She looked up, cold metal impacting her back as Caligo forced her back upon it._

 _"Shall we start?" The new figure spoke, holding up a large chainsaw, and she realized his voice was familiar._

 _"Who?"_

 _"We need to evaluate your hands, to see how the light gets to your fingers." The voice, so familiar. But who? He approached, the blade on the chainsaw began to spin, the air filled with metallic whines and creaks as the figure walked towards her with his quiet chainsaw. Her arm was jerked out, pain erupting in her shoulder from the force of the pull, a chill creeping through her from the frozen metal her arm was being strapped to. The chainsaw was brought above her arm, and panic soared threw her and she tried to roll away only to realize Caligo had climbed atop her, pinning her down. His breath was hot against her neck, whispering_

" _It will be over soon."_

 _"I am not a patient man." Verstael drolled, tapping his pen._

 _"Stay still and it'll be over faster." The familiar voice stated. She screamed at the searing pain at the first brush of the metal against her skin when the chainsaw came down in slow motion._

Lunafreya felt something on her wrist and yelped, throwing herself forward jarring Noctis awake as her arm was pulled from his grip, a loud grunt echoed her when her foot impacted his thigh, missing his groin through luck alone. She looked around her, and saw she was enclosed by darkness. Her heart throbbed in her ears and her chest, breaths too rapid to satisfy her air hunger as she gasped, hands clawing for a way out before she felt Caligo's hand in her hair, his breath on her neck, his weight over her body.

"Ugh… the hell?... Luna?" Noctis groaned, opening his eyes to see Lunafreya grasping at the fabric, her hands trembling. His voice was enough to cease her frantic motions, and she realized the sensation under her fingertips was tent fabric, and the voice that called her name was her Noct. She turned to him, sitting up shirtless and his hair sticking oddly from the top of his head. She let out a long exhale, trying to control the shudder in her breath.

"Sorry… nightmare." She admitted. He had been with her when she had them when he visited, and she would wake up in the darkness longing for his comfort when he wasn't. She shifted back over to her bedroll, lying on top of the sleeping bag too warm to want it over her. Noctis laid back down and reached an arm to motion for her to come closer, and she accepted the invitation to nestle with her head on his chest, the rest of her as close to him as she could get without lying atop him. His arm curled around her, the other twining his fingers with the hand she rested on his chest.

Noctis frowned at how fast she was breathing, and knew her heart was racing inside her chest. He tightened his hold on her, wishing he could chase these nightmares away. Realistically he knew that her nightmares would not vanish so quickly, despite his long held hopes that spiriting her from the empire would free her from them. He turned his head to kiss the top of her hair, his lips lingering against her for several seconds before he pulled back.

"You okay?" he asked. He never asked her about what her nightmares were about, the images either fading too quickly or she was too reluctant to talk about them.

"I will be." She answered after several long moments. She wished Pryna was with her, but the white dog had fallen asleep inside the trailer with Prompto and she didn't have the heart to ask the gunman to stop petting the dog. She settled for snuggling with Noctis, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly to try and regain some control over herself.

"You know you can tell me if you're not…" he prodded carefully. "You've been putting on a brave face ever since I yanked you out of bed in Altissia…" he continued.

"A lot has happened. In time I'll be all right. But what about yourself? You always worry for me."

"Well I haven't started wearing tin-foil on my head and screaming at clouds so I'll count that as a win." She chuckled at this, feigning to slap his chest but only lightly tapping him. Noctis pulled her slightly closer to him and he felt one of her legs slide over his so his knee was pressed between hers, and he grasped her hand again, thumb brushing along hers, and she gripped his fingers a bit tighter.

"You don't have to pretend you're all right merely out of concern for me."

"Let's make a deal. I promise to tell you if things get not okay, but you have to tell me the same. Deal?"

"Deal."

Prompto's camera clicked as the group collectively stood at the foot of the steps leading up to the Tomb of the Conqueror. Ignis stood just behind Noctis thumbing at his phone while reciting some history and lamenting the loss of his book on Lucis's past in Altissia. Noctis wanted to ask Ignis what difference knowing about this weapon would make, but knew that it was merely his nerves and lashing out at his friend wouldn't help him calm down. Lunafreya stood beside him and gave him a slight nudge with her shoulder when she noted how he stood with locked knees, fingers flexing at his side as he looked at the tomb's doors. He gave her a small smile and turned back at the imposing structure. She looked back up to the tomb, rolling her shoulders to try and ease the stiffness in her neck, the back of her hand pressed over her mouth when she failed to stifle a yawn.

"Can I see the inside of this one dude? Or is it all like, some spiritual moment that you need to be alone for?" Prompto asked, pointing up at the double doors.

"Huh? Oh… no it's fine. You can come in." he answered. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, feeling Lunafreya give his hand a tug to prompt him to take the first step. He led the retinue up to the doors, pushing them open and stepping inside, stopping as he stood before the stone carving of an ancestor whose name he could not recall. Noctis turned when he heard the click of Prompto's camera as he paced around the tomb, and was glad for the momentary distraction. He looked down at the carving of the axe and wondered what the pain of this weapon would be like. Would it be concentrated on the center of his chest like the sword had been, or would it spread across half his body like the damage the axe would actually do? He couldn't feel the drain of the sword now that it was tucked away, but he recalled the fatigue and pain that came with using the sword, and it had taken several hours for the nosebleed to stop. What would having two of the things do to him?

He looked up at Ignis, asking if he knew the name of the Conqueror, to which his advisor answered with a name he knew he wouldn't remember. It was an ancient sounding name and it was like trying to memorize a name from one of the fantasy books Lunafreya was so fond of. He let Ignis tell him a little about how the ancient King earned his title, sure that he had already been told this at least twice but wanted the momentary delay.

"We gonna stand here all day? Pick that thing up, I want to see if the ghost-version of that thing is as awesome looking as the carving" Gladiolus cut through the silence, and hit Noctis hard on the back. He reached out, feeling the odd tug and beckoned the axe to come to him. A flash of blue caused Prompto to leap away from the stone carving with a shout,

"Warn a guy next time dude!" he shouted, but wasted no time pointing his camera up at the floating weapon, "that's so cool!" the weapon turned and in a blur vanished into Noctis, who pressed a hand to his chest in answer to the brief flash of absolute agony, and began to rub at it to bring some warmth back to the skin that felt far too cold.

"Next time a daemon tries to trespass somewhere we don't want it that thing will sure fuck it up!" Crowe announced, giving the Prince a wink and a thumbs up. "though lets refrain from the six-hour nosebleeds." She added. He wanted to quip back that it was a slow trickle, if anything, but bit his tongue.

"Two down." He answered instead. Lunafreya reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze, catching his attention and when he saw the smile on her face he couldn't help the one that tugged on his lips.

"Your doe eyes get any bigger there Sparkles and a sabertusk may actually mistake you for a baby anak!" Crowe teased, and Lunafreya pulled her hand away quickly, dropping her arms to her side, cheeks flushing red. "Just… just teasing." Crowe added, her tone much softer.

"Are we all just gonna ignore the fact Noct tookan _axe_ to the _chest_?!" Prompto asked, throwing his hands in the air. "I mean, it made for one really cool shot, but did I mention he took an axe to the chest?"

"My ancestors weapons have always stabbed the one looking to collect them. I don't know if its supposed to be a toll, a test… no one has ever actually _talked_ to the ancient Lucian Kings, so the best we can do is guess." Noctis answered.

"So you'll have to get stabbed like that eleven more times?" Gladiolus asked. "To get all thirteen of those things?"

"Ten." Lunafreya corrected, and reached her hand out to summon her trident, the other once again fluttering over her mouth. She shook her head to try and bring some sense back to herself, and curled her fingers around the familiar metal of her trident as it answered her summons. Prompto was quick to inquire as to why her weapon looked real, when the ancient weapons Noctis had collected looked blue and ethereal. "This is the actual trident. It was a gift from the first Crystal's King to the first Oracle. It has been passed down through the generations." She explained.

"Huh. Wait does that mean like, the real weapons are under that stone carving?" Prompto asked. Ignis answered the affirmative, getting another _huh_ from Prompto before he took more pictures of the carving. "So how does this all work?" he asked. Noctis explained what his father had told him about the echos his father explained.

"Can you collect an echo if she has the thing with her?" Gladiolus asked, pointing at Lunafreya's trident.

"Huh… never actually thought of trying." Noctis admitted. He looked up to Lunafreya who shrugged and held her trident out before her. He reached out his hand to it, trying to find that odd magnetic pull, or sense a chill against his palm, but neither occurred.

"So?"

"I'm trying! Normally I can feel something." He answered Gladiolus, then dropped his hand to his side with a sigh.

"Perhaps an arm cannot gift an echo when still being wielded?" Ignis suggested. "I can't recall ever reading a tale of a Lucian King collecting an arm from one still in use." He continued, tapping at his chin.

"I definitely can't collect this," Noctis answered and gestured at the trident.

"Well I do say it's prudent to find a good place to make camp." Ignis cut in through the conversation.

"This early? Shouldn't we head to get another one of these things?" Gladiolus asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest and shifting his weight.

"I really don't know how I feel collecting two in one day…" Noctis admitted.

"And I'm still a little sore from that ass-kick we received by that daemon." Prompto added. "I won't complain about hittin' the sleeping bag early." Gladiolus expressed his disagreement, but was quickly out-voted by the rest of the retinue who were all eager to find a safe camping location to pitch their tents. There was a safe-haven a little under an hour's drive away.

"There's even a fishing spot here Noct," Ignis commented from the driver's seat as they pulled into a small parking area a fifteen minute walk from their destination.

"Sweet." He answered, "wanna join me Luna?" he asked; attempting to lean against the car door to hold it open for her but only causing himself to stumble and fall when the car lunched when Gladiolus existed the car.

"I'd be delighted," Lunafreya was unsuccessful in her attempt to stifle a giggle, holding out a hand to help him back to his feet.

"I purchased a nice assortment of vegetables, some fish could go perfectly with them should you wrangle us up something edible" Ignis continued, needlessly pushing his glasses up his nose so his palm would obscure the smirk on his face. "And it's vegetables you'll actually _eat_ Noct…" he sighed, "some onions, potatoes, and leide peppers. I do wish you would expand your palate."

"You've been telling me that since I was five."

"And yet I have failed to learn…"

"All right we got a lot of shit to carry get up," Gladiolus chimed in, picking up Noctis by the back of his jacket, lifting him up and pulling Lunafreya off-balance with her hand still clasped with that of her Prince, but she managed to catch herself before falling to the pavement herself.

"Dude!" Noctis brushed the seat of his pants, and rolled his eyes at his Sheid's exaggerated false apology. He followed him to the trunk, slinging one of the packed tents over his shoulder, his duffle in the other. Lunafreya took her duffle and slung it onto her back, and pulled two of their camp chairs out,

"Let me help," Prompto offered, but she shook her head,

"I'm all right. There's plenty else to carry."

"yeah tell 'em Sparkles, you don't need no man to carry shit for you!" Crowe had parked her motorcycle behind the Regalia and joined the group, a backpack on her back. "How does this car fit so much stuff?" she inquired when she reached into the deceptively large trunk to pull out a camp chair and her own tent that fit in the car far better than it did threatening to throw the balance of her bike off by tying it to the seat just behind her.

Everyone finished gathering things from the back of the Regalia before slamming the trunk shut, causing Ignis to mutter under his breath, and they made the walk to their camp site with a couple hours of light left in the day. They all put their belongings down, rolling and rubbing their shoulders now relieved of their burdens.

"I'm gonna go hit that pond while it's still daylight." Noctis declared after he finished pitching his tent with Lunafreya's help, teaching her along the way what he was doing. "And take a bath while I'm at it. Where's that special soap you bought?"

"The castile soap? In the green bag." Ignis answered and pointed. The others had pitched their own tents as well, Gladiolus and Prompto had volunteered to gather firewood, leaving Crowe and Ignis behind to organize their camp and start preparing food to cook.

"Be sure to bring back some fish we can eat." Ignis answered, waving his friend off.

"Can you teach me this time?" Lunafreya inquired when they stepped onto the dock, Noctis calling his fishing pole like he would one of his weapons, and reached for the tackle box he had set on the ground to rifle through it for the type of lure he wanted to use. A piece of paper had been tacked to a nearby pole, by a local fisherman Noctis assumed, listing the fish that were in the water and making lure selection much easier.

"Oh, yeah, of course." He answered her. She had accompanied him on multiple fishing trips during his visits, always with an entourage of MagiTek soldiers and a scattering of human soldiers who were there to make sure their precious Oracle didn't run off. Part of her had always wondered if they would rather gun her down than risk letting her escape.

"Like that?" She asked. Noctis gave it a test tug and nodded,

"Here, take the rod. I'll tell you how to cast it. You've watched me enough times."

"Doesn't Ignis want us to bring home something to eat?"

"We have time." Noctis assured her, and found a smile on his face to mirror hers. She got to her feet quickly, wiggling her shoulders as she adjusted her grip on the rod. He walked her through how to cast, and after one awkwardly timed attempt that hit the dock with the line, her second try was more successful the bobber sitting in the water a couple of meters away from the dock.

"Fast learner!" he nudged her, and let out a contented sigh at the excited smile lighting up her face. She had watched him fishing enough times to know when a fish was biting, and held the rod in her hands with her eyes trained on the bobber.

"I always loved fishing with you." She told him, "and I had always wanted to learn… But Aldercapt didn't want his precious Oracle to return to the Manor smelling of fish, lest I not be in top form should he beckon me. And Caligo was more than happy to oblige the Emperor if it meant shortening my leash."

"You're not on a leash anymore now." Noctis answered after a brief hesitation, shifting his weight and drumming his fingers on his thigh. Lunafreya nodded, and the smile returned to her face.

"Still feels odd." She admitted. "But I suppose I've always liked odd." She turned to him, her eyes touched by her smile, a slight flush to her cheeks.

"Guess that's why you like me so much."

"Clearly that has to be it. Can't possibly think of any other reason." Noctis gave her a shove and she yelped, gripping the rod tighter and shouting his name, letting go with one hand to swipe at him, and his laughter joined hers. They began to reminisce about previous fishing trips they had taken together and Tenebrae, and Noctis told her about the magic Ignis would work whenever he caught something big enough to eat.

"Oh!" Lunafreya let out a small startle when the bobber dipped below the surface of the water, and shifted her grip to begin reeling, Noctis excitedly directing her how to tug the rod, speed up reeling, slow down. She followed his instructions, and her excitement was infectious. Noctis wanted to laugh to echo the way she giggled, and tried to recall the last time she had simply looked so damn _excited_ about something. Noctis reached for the small net, holding it ready for when she pulled the fish out of the water. He caught it, helping her lay it on the dock to remove the hook from its mouth.

"Beginner's luck!" he proclaimed, looking at the fish that would likely be enough to feed either herself or maybe Prompto, thought it certainly wouldn't even put a dent into Gladiolus's monstrous appetite.

"I say good teacher." She shot back.

"Well you're off to a good start, see if you can catch another one?" Noctis suggested. Lunafreya nodded,

"Keep the same lure?"

"It didn't break or anything so yeah."

"Hold this for a moment please," she held the rod out to him so she could sit on the edge of the dock and removed her shoes, dipping her feet in the water before she reached out for the rod and Noctis placed it in her hands. He removed his own boots and socks and placed them behind them to sit beside her on the dock. She drew the rod back, and cast the line out, not managing to get it as far as before and tisked at herself,

"That's still far enough." He reassured her. "It's really fun getting to finally teach you how to fish." He had always been content to sit on a dock and spend a quiet afternoon alone, or enjoy her company during his all-too brief visits to Tenebrae. But actually handing her his rod and sharing this with her was nearly making him feel giddy.

"I'm quite happy finally having the chance to try." She answered, and leaned to her left so she leaned on his arm. He smiled as her weight pressed against him, and he slid an arm around her waist. He turned his head and pressed a kiss to her shoulder, eliciting a quiet hum from her. Lunafreya let her eyes close for a moment, savoring the feel of his lips on her skin, but recalled his friends who were not far away and stiffened, sitting up straighter her gaze flickering back to the bobber in the water.

"Hey…" Noctis whined, sitting up a bit to give her just a bit of distance and drew his arm back, resting his hands in his lap. "It's okay…" he trailed off. He looked at her hands on the rod and was relieved to find she held a lax grip despite her rigid posture. "My friends aren't like the Nifs." He added after a moment, wincing at himself for bringing the Empire up. "They really won't care if we show each other a little affection. Especially since they know how little time we got to have together. Besides, they're all too preoccupied to stare at us." He saw the stiffness in her limbs relax, her head bowing slightly and the tip of the rod dipping.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, feeling her cheeks heat up. She turned her head to look at him, bringing a light smile to her face. "You're right." She added, thinking about the small group. She leaned against Noctis again, and felt his arm slide back around her waist.

"Don't apologize." He gave her another kiss on the shoulder, and when he didn't feel her tense up brought his lips up to her neck so he could taste her skin, salty from sweating in the hot Leide air and somehow still felt slightly cool. She whispered his name, but he couldn't hear any anxiety in her voice, and she tilted her head away from him.

"How do you always know how to make me lose my senses?" she asked. A part of her wanted to shy away, sit back up straight and proper again, and focus only on the fishing. But his arm was around her, his lips on her neck, and the rest of her wanted to collapse into his embrace and bury her face against his chest. Her mind wandered to the things she wanted to do should they ever manage to find themselves alone, and when she felt her cheeks heating up and the flutter low in her belly at the thought she shook her head slightly, shifting her thoughts to the task at hand.

"I never have mine when I'm around you, just trying to even the score." He answered her question. She smiled with a light chuckle, shrugging her shoulders when his lips ghosted a tickling spot where her neck and shoulder met.

"Noct!" He pulled back from her enough to meet her gaze and she tilted her head to meet his lips, sighing against his mouth. Gentle at first, but he nipped at her bottom lip until opened her mouth to him, their kiss a dance of lips and tongue. She focused on him, trying to ignore the anxiety threatening to break through the surface telling her to pull away. His hand cupped her cheek, his warm touch helping her settle back down so she could focus on his touch, his taste, and his voice as he hummed against her, breaking the kiss to whisper a small _I love you._ "I love you too." She whispered, lips hovering a breath away from his. "Oh!" she let out a surprised yelp when she felt a small tug on her line, and quickly clenched her fists around the rod to keep herself from dropping it into the water.

The bobber had vanished beneath the surface, the reel clicking as the line was pulled out. She followed Noctis's rapid instructions to grab the reel, and once again was walked through how to pull the fish in, and wondered if this fish was large enough to be edible like the last one. Noctis helped her pull it up onto the dock, and let out a surprised laugh,

"Man you're good at this!"

"Watching a master at work must have rubbed off," she answered him, and smiled in response to his grin. "So this one is edible too?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Here, I don't want to hoard all the fun." She held the rod out to him once the fish had been removed from the line and killed quickly so it didn't have to suffocate.

"This is your first time ever fishing." Noctis tried to defend, but took the rod from her anyway.

"I've always enjoyed watching you fish. And I'm sure I'll have ample opportunities to try more. Thank you for teaching me Noct." He smiled at her, assessed his lure and cast the line back out into the water, sighing contently when he felt her lean her weight on him again, head resting against his shoulder as they watched the bobber.


	16. Campfire Stew

Hey guys sorry for the delay in updating... but we have some chocobros, and some Lunoct at the end. I hope you enjoy!

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Lunafreya was kneeling on the ground next to Noctis who who was busy showing her how to clean the fish they had caugh, the advisor himself was at work cutting vegetables. He had altered his mind about what to prepare with the fish, deciding to make a simple stew to feed the group as opposed to grilling it. His cast iron pot had been set over the fire to start heating up, filled with water and dried herbs, as well as some of the vegetables that took longer to cook.

"Not gonna lie, never really pictured the Oracle kneeling in the dirt cutting up fish." Crowe remarked.

"The empire liked to present a certain version of me to the public." Lunafreya replied, her eyes trained on the fish, scraping her blade against the grain of the scales after trimming off the fins as Ignis had described to them.

"There's a lot more to you than meets the eye, huh?" Lunafreya turned to offer her a shrug and a half-smile before turning her attention back to her work. She had one clean fish beside her, Noctis already working on his third. Ignis reached over to Noctis's pile of cleaned fish and began to dice it into pieces suitable for his stew. Noctis helped Lunafreya with the last of the fish, and dinner was cooking on their fire as night settled onto their camp.

"You think we'll be safe tonight?" Prompto inquired when they could hear faint rumbling and hissing, though it was difficulty to discern where the sounds were coming from.

"Havens have always been safer than the small outposts." Ignis explained. "And in addition, we have the Oracle."

"My presence didn't stop that daemon that attacked Hammerhead." Lunafreya interjected quietly.

"I don't think that was an ordinary daemon. The bombs couldn't come into the light." Ignis rebuked.

"You definitely saved my ass. And Noct's" Prompto added and stuck both his thumbs in the air. "So why don't people make havens in towns to keep them safe?" Ignis had no answer for this, and wondered if a way to help protect Hammerhead in the future would be to make it a haven as well.

"I can hear lots of rustling… are we sure the daemons can't step on havens? That thing bust into Hammerhead like those lights weren't even there." Gladiolus added. The group sat in silence for a moment. Noctis and Lunafreya focused their eyes on their fish, Ignis stirred his stew longer than necessary while Prompto started flicking through the pictures on his camera. He wondered if there was an accessory he could buy for the camera to wear on his body during battles to capture images, wondering if they would have more answers if he had pictures of that daemon for Ignis to study.

"I gotta pee while I have a good chance." Noctis remarked, standing up and stretching his limbs, feeling a few pops in his lower back, the old scar aching slightly at the edges of the tight skin. "I promise to scream like a little girl if I get ambushed." He waved at his friends as he turned to walk towards the nearest tree.

"So your normal scream then?" Gladiolus remarked, Noctis holding up his middle finger as he walked away and vanished behind some nearby foliage, surprised his shield didn't insist in following him.

"Hey, Luna." Prompto called, pausing from flicking through his camera's memory. He took the few steps away form his camp chair to kneel next to her, holding out his camera. She looked up with a curious quirk of her brow, and felt her cheeks flush as she looked at the photo of her sitting on the dock next to Noctis, head tilted as she shared a kiss with him. She shifted in place, feeling her heart begin to race in her chest and her palms began to sweat. "You two are just _adorable_ …." He gushed with a smile, and Lunafreya knit her brows, looking up to his eyes that were still looking down at the photo.

"I…" she faltered, swallowing to regain control over her tone. "Thank you…" she shifted her remark, and looked back down at the photo, feeling the heat in her cheeks spread to her ears. She had never imagined she would feel comfortable sharing a kiss with Noctis outside the safety of a locked door and covered windows. She looked so different than any other picture of herself she had ever seen. She wasn't in a pure white dress, her hair pulled up in a series of braids and a bun, with a forced smile on her face as she stood chaste and demure for the camera. Quiet rustling and growling a short distance away filled the brief silence as they stared at the camera.

"You both look all relaxed and happy… I couldn't resist taking a picture! I mean, Gladio would barf all over my camera if I showed him."Prompto gushed, and she was taken aback by the genuine smile on his face as he looked at the picture. She relaxed her shoulders, sat back on her heels and wondered how different a visit would have been should she have been allowed to Insomnia. _I wouldn't have had to hide._

"A picture of Sparkles with her guard down? I _gotta_ see this." Crowe remarked, looking at the still blushing Lunafreya who shrugged and nodded, her shield quickly stepping up behind Prompto to look over his shoulder at the picture. "Heh, you guys are pretty adorable." She grinned at Lunafreya and stuck her tongue out at her, getting a shy smile in return.

"Thank you for showing me Prompto…" He flashed a smile at her before returning to his camp chair, flicking through the camera once more as he reclined back, resting a leg on his knee and bouncing his foot. She wondered what else was on that camera and what was turning those cogs in his mind as he looked at them.

"Survive your trek into the wilds?" Gladiolus called over as Noctis returned to camp.

"Yeah. Though there's a lot of noise out there…" he admitted. "Are there really _that_ many nocturnal animals in this area?" he asked Ignis, who let out a sigh, chopping at his vegetables a little harder.

"I had brought a book with me on the flora and fauna of Lucis, but it's back in Altissa." He admitted, wishing he had left it with their camping gear in the car where it belonged. But he had wanted something to read at night and brought the book, amongst others, with him to the flood-city.

"Maybe we can get a new one next time we're near a bookstore." Noctis offered. Ignis paused for a moment, and nodded, and found himself unreasonably excited at the prospect of going to a bookstore. He agreed with his friend, dumping his now finished vegetables into the pot.

"Prompto… show Noctis the photograph you showed me." Lunafreya requested, exchanging a glance with Noctis who was looking at her with a knit brow and slight tilt to his head.

"Yeah!" he leapt up knocking backwards the sudden crash echoed by a series of hisses and chitters. He walked up to Noctis, thumbing at his camera as he knelt next to his friend and held out the picture, Nocits blushing instantly.

"You were _spying_ on us?!" he admonished, but Lunafreya placed a hand on his shoulder, and offered a smile to show she was not angry at the photo.

"I wasn't-" Prompto suddenly recalled how livid Noctis had been when Gladiolus had followed the pair in Altissia, and began to nervously shift on his knees. "I just happened to notice how adorable you guys looked when getting firewood with Gladio."

"It's all right." Lunafreya interjected, looking up at Noctis who knit his brows at her. "I… I like the picture. I've never seen one of us together." She gave him a small smile that broadened when his shoulders slacked, and he sat back.

"Sorry man, shouldn't've jumped down your throat like that." He apologized, and gestured to see the picture again. He looked at it, his smile matching Lunafreya's as he studied it, and wished at some point he had thought of snapping a photo of him and her together on his phone. _She was always too apprehensive to let me do that._ "It's a really nice picture." Prompto grinned, and moved back to his camp chair, placing his camera carefully in his bag. "Anyone else hear that?" he inquired, looking around.

"Yeah this area is kinda noisy. Probably little rodents or somethin'" Crowe answered, waving a dismissive hand.

"Animals run around at night with all those daemons? Sounds like a good way to get eaten." Prompto remarked,

"Eh, the rodents 'n stuff never seemed to bother the daemons." Crowe answered. Prompto scrunched his nose, and wiggled in his chair as he tried to ease the discomfort of sitting in the camp chair.

"Never really liked rats."

"Or snakes?" Crowe wiggled her fingers at Prompto who made a rude hand gesture in response. "Hey specs whats the E-T-A on dinner?"

"I just added the fish, but it should be ready soon." Ignis explained, giving said stew a stir, wafting the steam towards his nose and taking a sip of the broth with a spoon before reaching into his bag to add more salt.

With full stomachs the group settled around the fire with darkness fully settled around them. They had exchanged stories, Crowe regaling everyone with tales of her adventures outside Insomnia and how much Lucis had changed in the last five years.

"Okay so Nyx has promised there was this place he wanted to take me, that I'd love it. I guess it was some bar he loved and would sneak into with a fake ID as a teenager, _best beer in Lucis!_ So we get there and walk in, and tits. Tits _everywhere_. Turns out, the place wasn't makin' much money on beer alone. Damn place became a strip club. Gave Nyx a black eye for that one. Idiot hadn't told me a thing about the place so I thought it was on purpose!" The others laughted, Gladiolus giving her a punch on the arm,

"Seems like he's had a big collection of shiners!"

"Oh you have _no_ idea. I mean, I _did_ feel like an asshole after he told me the place was only a bar the last time he was there."

"Was this just as friends getting a drink, or…?"

"First date." She answered back, shaking hear head and suddenly in want for a drink.

"Ha! Classy…" Gladiolus laughed, punching her on the arm. "Bet that's a first date you'll never forget."

"Or let him forget" Crowe scoffed. She settled back in her chair, tilting her head back to look up at the sky. She let out an annoyed groan and turned her head to look towards where she heart a groan, and jumped to her feet. A half-dozen bombs were hovering and pacing just beyond the borders, flanked with flans, an Iron Giant letting out a second pained groan that matched the first sound several paces away as it attempted to step within the bounds of the haven. "Guys… take a look around." Everyone looked up and looked around, getting to their feet.

"Shit! Can they get to us?!" Gladiolus asked, summoning his great sword, the others leaning away from him, but quickly refocused their gaze on the edges of the haven where more bombs and flans were gathering and pacing.

"How… how are there flans? I thought those things only appeared underground?"

"I don't fuckin' know! Ask the brain!" Crowe snapped, and gestured at Ignis.

"Even the giant can't step onto the grounds… I do gamble the assumption that we will remain safe as… unsettling as this is." He had read about daemons at night across Lucis, and wondered how much of it was fantasy. It hadn't taken long for that assumption to turn into fact, but he had never seen such a cluster. He had heard of a gathering of five bombs at most. He paused, and turned to Lunafreya,

"Didn't you once say you saw a whole town that had been destroyed by a pack of daemons?" he asked. It took her a moment to realize that he was speaking to her and nodded as the bitter memories came back to mind. She had come to the town after the attack, the bombs long gone. There weren't enough survivors to tell her if the bombs simply went away, were destroyed, or if another fate held them. _Not here too_.

"I don't know if I can sleep now…" Prompto mumbled, looking around and flexing his fingers, bouncing his weight between his legs as he debated pulling out his guns. The others in the party were not faring much better. Lunafreya was debating an attempt to put a shield over the group, but had never attempted one so large and when she reached for her magic realized she was still exhausted from the attack on Hammerhead. Noctis had his back nearly touching Gladiolus's, his Engine Blade in his hand summoned moments after he had stood, and Ignis was assessing their situation trying to find any sign of weakness in the runes that protected the haven.

"While I do not believe these things can pass into our haven, I find it prudent we take shifts standing guard." Ignis offered. He adjusted his shirt, his ears burning as he adjusted his collar and pushed his glasses back up his nose. He cleared his throat, wanting to eliminate the hesitation in his voice before continuing. "We can each take one-hour shifts until dawn rises so the others can sleep."

"I don't think it matters. That many daemons get into here we're toast." Crowe offered.

"Really helping dude!" Prompto shouted, giving her a thumbs up and a forced grin. "You should be the groups morale beacon!"

"Isn't that Sparklefingers' job?"

"No she's our white mage, I'm the ranger, Gladio is the tank, Noct is just a vanilla DPS, Ignis is the bard."

"Bard?! I do believe I would be better suited at the group's tactician."

"You play too many video games." Crowe rolled her eyes.

"Huh, what are those things?" Prompto asked, looking past the collection of daemons to the moving shadows beyond. "More daemons?... Shit! They're snakes!" he quickly pulled out his guns, "I hate snakes! Are there really _daemon_ snakes? Luna! Kill 'em with fire!"

"Umm…" She hesitated, not sure which part of his exclamation to tackle first.

"I do believe large serpentine creatures are native to Lucis. But contrary to popular belief they are not snakes. Eos lacks the oxygen density in its atmosphere, and has a too-cool a climate to sustain largescale reptiles like in days of old."

"Okay specs, enough science lessons." Gladiolus interjected before the advisor could carry on. "So are they a threat or no? Haven won't stop a snake from gobbling us up-"

"I just said they are not-"

"It looks like a snake, walks like a snake, I'm calling it a snake." Ignis sighed at Gladiolus's interruption, pinching the bridge of his nose as he assessed their surroundings.

"I don't think those things will bother us…" Crowe started, noticing how the Iron Giant and several of the bombs had started wandering in the direction of the nocturnal creatures. The litany of hissing and growling grew. The bombs inflated, basking the surrounding area in light, allowing the group to note the variety of colors in the snake-like animals who drew back and stood tall, now resembling cobras causing Gladiolus to comment again how he had trouble believing these things weren't just giant snakes.

"What the… ugh!" Crowe covered her mouth when the first bomb detonated leaving a cloud of pink with red chunks being thrown through the air. The surviving creatures hissed and drew closer together, one of them striking out at a bomb and drew back, the resulting sound unmistakable as a wail of agony. The Iron Giant had lumbered up to the group at this point and raised its cleaver, bringing it down hard slashing through both a bomb and one of the snakes. The grass ignited from the previous explosion, the flames beginning to lick to life casting a bright orange glow, allowing Crowe and Lunafreya to remark on the black banding around the animals who were now frantically backing away from the daemons, one of them daring a strike at the Iron Giant and being cleaved in two for its efforts.

"This is… horrible." Lunafreya managed to keep her voice level, having swallowed to loosen the knot in her throat she was sure would have made her voice a high-pitched whine. The daemons around the haven were agitated, spinning in place, some of the bombs inflating and deflating as the cacophony of noise grew louder. But it only lasted a minute more as two more bombs detonated, the Iron Giant cutting the last surviving snake into three pieces and began to hack at the twitching lifeless remains until all movement ceased. It lifted up its cleaver, bellowing at the sky, the one remaining bomb inflating and deflating rapidly in cadence to the victorious cry.

"Shit." Noctis whispered. "We . are so screwed."

"I do think we will be safe should we remain here at the haven." Ignis added, turning away from the site of the massacre.

"There was probably a hunt for those things anyway. Hey maybe we can show up at the nearest hunter's spot and collect the bounty on those things!" Gladiolus suggested, getting a hot look from Ignis, but words of agreement from Crowe and the other two men in the group.

"They're returning." Lunafreya stated, her eyes locked on the Giant and its one bomb tailing it, lumbering up the hill towards them, arm swinging the cleaver around in the air, continuing to bellow, feet hitting the ground with far more effort than before.

"That thing was stopped before, right? 'Cause it looks pretty pissed off." Prompto remarked. "Though I do kinda want to give it a hug for getting rid of those snakes for me. I'll sleep peacefully tonight!"

"Who said anything about sleep? I feel like I'm an animal in a zoo…" Noctis stated, side-stepping closer to Lunafreya as he noticed there seemed to be a dozen more flans and bombs than before. He could make out the shadow of another Iron Giant in the distance, backlit by a distant street light, and he wondered if it was repelled by the light or not. Lunafreya yelping from beside him drew his attention and he quickly turned to her, sliding an arm around her waist, "you okay?!"

"Yeah just… that caught me off guard," she looked up at the place where the Iron Giant had attempted to bring down its cleaver over the haven, the blade knocked back in a flash of light, a spiderweb of pentagons erupting across the haven's barrier, the daemons's victorious shouts shifting into a deep angry growl everyone could feel in their throats. "It feels the same as when… those MTs were attacking my shields back in Altissia, or the daemon in Hammerhead." She explained.

"But… you don't have a shield up, do you?" Noctis asked her, fingers gripping the fabric of her shirt. He had noticed the distinct pattern of light when the haven was struck.

"No. I just… detect the magic of this haven… and it feels the same as if I had put up my own shield." She looked around them, trying to sense the dome of magic around them, but only able to detect it with the discomfort of the protective barrier around this haven deflecting the daemon's attacks.

"Is it making you tired?"

"No. It's hard to describe." Lunafreya replied, exhaling sharply out her nose as her eyes tracked the cleaver as it bore down on the shield.

"I don't think your sleeping in shifts idea will be necessary… I sure as hell have no intention of sleeping until daylight." Gladiolus murmured, wondering if this shield would eventually shatter like one of the Oracle's. Had these things ever been tested like this? "Crowe, you've gone running around everywhere. This normal?" he asked, an open palm swinging around him.

"Never seen this many of the fuckers. Usually one Iron Giant on a bad night, a few bombs aren't abnormal but I've never seen them do this…" she answered, eyes flicking rapidly around her, fingers twitching, the air in her palm warm.

"Well I do not find it very wise for all of us to stay up all the night. I myself will get some sleep, come wake me if you decide to sleep and my turn to watch over camp arises." Ignis answered, his words more annunciated than usual as he walked up to his tent, reminding Prompto he was sharing a tent with Gladiolus.

"I think I'll take advantage of his fear of pissing the bed and sleep sprawled out while I can." He answered and crawled into the other tent.

"You go to bed Sparkles, I'll stay up with Gladio, Shields should be the ones to take first watch, right?" she offered her charge, but Lunafreya shook her head,

"I know I will not be able to sleep knowing we are surrounded by these things. Just think of it as having your… white mage… on stand-by." She offered with a shrug and a small smile, getting a nod and thumbs up from Crowe, who dropped into a camp chair.

"And the sleeping wonder?" Gladiolus asked.

"I'll stay up too." He dragged his chair closer to the one Lunafreya was standing in front of after vanishing his Engine Blade and sat down, and she mirrored him after an enthusiastic hand gesture. Gladiolus pulled out his phone after another angry bellow from the Iron Giant, wanting to drown out the anxiety-inducing series of growls, hisses, and screams from the daemons. He knew Ignis would probably prefer the music to the daemons, and Prompto slept with music next to him anyway, so he didn't feel very guilty setting the phone's volume to maximum before shoving it in the chair's cupholder.

"Well. What do you say we break out the cards? I have a deck in my bag. I have a feelin it's gonna be a long-ass night." The others couldn't disagree with Crowe, and with cards in hand she asked "so who's dealing?"

Halfway through the third card game Noctis's hibernating nature got the best of him, and after offering to take a guard rotation that was refused by the pair of shields, Noctis crawled into his tent, Lunafreya happy to follow. Once inside she allowed herself to drop her guard and began to rub at her temples, squinting her eyes trying to will the tension away. The Iron Giant had periodically swung at the haven for several minutes at a time, and the constant throbbing had developed into a headache.

"You okay?" She turned towards Noctis's voice and decided that there was no point in pretending. She sighed and admitted to her headache. "I wonder if we'll have this trouble at every haven or if this one just hates us." He mused, laying back on his sleeping bag and gesturing for her to come curl up next to him.

"I think it may only be this place… if it were everywhere there would have been more than just the two bombs stalking the edge of Hammerhead." Lunafreya answered him. "How are you feeling?" she inquired when her mind wandered to that battle.

"Pretty good actually. What about you?"

"Back to normal." She answered with a slight shrug.

"So wild about me and thinking about how much better I'd look if I took these clothes off? 'Cause I was thinking the same thing."

"How much better you would look without your clothes?" Lunafreya asked, turning her head and cocking a brow at him, tapping at his chest a bit with her palm.

"I-! No! I meant _you_." He stammered, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"I tease, my scruffy Prince." she smiled, sitting up slightly. Noctis groaned when her weight shifted against him and when she leaned over him he couldn't help allow his gaze to drift to the view afforded him by her shift in position. The heat in his cheeks spread down his stomach as he thought about how two nights with her had not been enough to fill the longing left by their six-month separation.

"Well, now you gotta make it up to me," he offered, jutting his bottom lip and quivering it as he knit his brows together.

"How can I refuse that face? It's just too adorable to slap so I suppose I best give in. How ever shall I make it up to you?"

"You _could_ remove those clothes. I mean… it _is_ pretty warm in here."

"I'm simply exhausted, you ask too much of me. Perhaps help an exhausted Princess?" She tilted her head and mirrored his pout, slouching her shoulder a bit in an unsuccessful attempt to appear seductive, but her shirt disagreed with offering Noctis a better view.

"Hmm what kind of Prince would I be otherwise?" he asked, "and don't you actually answer that!" He pointed, giving her an accusatory side-eye.

"I shant dream of it." She promised, sitting up on her knees to free her arms so she could place her palms over her heart. He whined in returned and reached for her, tugging at the bottom of her shirt whispering a quiet _come here_. She flushed at the growl in his voice and leaned forward, her lips clashing with his, heat erupting low in her belly in answer when he whispered her name in that same tone. Her lips clashed with his, the pair wincing for a moment when she fell against him faster than she intended, but they quickly recovered and tongues danced as the kiss deepened, Lunafreya answering Noctis's low rumble with a throaty purr of her own.

Noctis released Lunafreya's shirt, the fabric rumpled from the grip he had on the garment before his hands slid over her waist, biting back a comment about how cold her skin felt and instead focused on warming her by stroking his hands across her waist, pausing now and then for his thumbs to roll circles into her skin. She sighed against his mouth, and a nasal exhale from Noctis tickled her cheek which only enticed her more, her tongue demanding more, hands seeking more as she slid her own hands under his shirt, returning his touches, a thumb rolling over his nipple which elicited a whine from Noctis to clash with his previous gravely tones.

"Hmm… that's a new reaction." She whispered, and flushed at her own words.

"That touch was a little new." He whispered back, letting her kiss him silent again.

"Well I quite enjoy it when you do that… I figured it was about time I returned the favor…" her voice was low with a trace hoarseness to it,

"Guess… I should…" his voice was muffled when her lips refused to part with his, his sentence cut off when her teeth bore down on his bottom lip and pulled back. The action caused him to moan, to which she quickly pulled back, using her thumb to wipe the saliva from her lip.

"We should stop… your friends are right there…" she whispered, throwing a glance in the direction where the low fire cast a faint glow on the tent.

"Mmm… You got me a little worked up…" he complained, and they both looked where his sleep pants were tented. "Besides… Gladio is blasting his music and you're pretty quiet." He offere.d

"I-"

"I don't mean that as a bad thing." He cut her off. She dodged his gaze and worried her bottom lip, trying to ignore the faint tingling as her lips longed to reconnect with his. "I just mean… I don't think they'd hear anything." Lunafreya flushed as she thought about the things she longed to do with him, and for him to do with her. Like him, two nights was not enough to slake her lust after six months apart. Her knees began to ache and she shifted so she was sitting and leaning over him,

"I do wish to take advantage of this time together…" she dropped the volume of her whispers further, Noctis straining to hear her over the distorted music that managed to filter into the tent. It was punctuated by the occasional laugh and he turned his full attention back to her,

"I don't think they're paying any attention to us anyway." He offered, also dropping the volume of his voice farther, hoping it would assuage her fears. He was a bit surprised himself he was willing to cross boundaries with the limited privacy of their tent, but gods _damn_ did he want her. The look in her eyes, the welling in her lips, the way her breasts moved with her breaths as her thumbs continued their attention to his chest.

"The question is, can we keep it that way?"

"Hmm one way to find out." He reached under his shirt to grip her wrists, sitting up and pushing his hips against hers to push her onto her back and pinned her wrists next to her ears. The pressure of his hips against hers made him groan, and he couldn't resist pushing against her trying to ease the rising tension in his groin and gave her a victorious grin when he felt her roll her hips in answer to his movements.

His eyes were drawn again to the rise and fall of her breasts with her now rapid breaths, and longed to see them freed from their cloth prison. He tugged at the bottom of her shirt, his palms sliding up her sides. She arched her back and then lifted her shoulders a moment later to assist him in removing her shirt, and he was pleasantly surprised to find she had not worn anything beneath the shirt. He opened his mouth to whisper her name, but instead brought his mouth to her breast, earing a sharp gasp that caused Lunafreya to roll her hips against him again when his tongue brushed over her already erect nipple.

Lunafreya's hands reached up, fingers of one hand tangling in his hair, the other scratching lines down his back, forcing herself to curl her fingers to restrain herself to avoid leaving marks.

"I love it when you do that…" he mumbled against her when she stopped. "I don't plan to be shirtless in front of the guys…" he added. She hesitated for a moment, but his tongue returned to teasing her before moving to the other breast, nipping her gently forcing her to bite down on her bottom lip to hold back a startled cry, and unfurled her fingers to resume tracing novels into his back. She could feel his silent laugh against her chest and removed her fingers from his hair to slap his arm, which only brought on another series of snickers against her, "I think you liked that?" he asked, and bit her again, pushing his groin against her when her knees pressed against his waist and cursed the cloth barriers between them.

Lunafreya was shamelessly rolling her hips to grind against him, working herself up for a few moments before she too could no longer tolerate the offense of having anything keeping her from feeling Noctis's skin on her skin. She wanted to joke about Noctis's earlier suggestion of her enjoying the sight of him naked, but found her voice stuck in her throat as his tongue worked wonders against her breast and she fantasied about the other things he did with his tongue, goosebumps rolling down her arms with the new wave of heat that pulsed through her. She wondered if Noctis could read her mind, for a hand carefully slid down her stomach, a thumb teasing the waist of her pants, his tongue making specific motions to further push her mind to certain thoughts.

She returned the gesture, reaching between him using her hips to nudge him back so she could slip her hands to untie his sleep pants before hooking her thumbs on the waistband, teasing them lower incrementally as she brushed along his waist, hooking a knee around one of his legs. He eventually let out a small whine against her chest, bringing his head up to start kissing below her earlobe and mumbled quietly against her neck,

"You're killing me…" She smiled at his words and finally pushed his pants down, happy to find he lacked any boxers beneath. He reached down to her own waistband and began to push them past her buttocks, hands cupping her and giving them a squeeze, Lunafreya biting down on her lip to keep from yelping and glared at him, which only made him squeeze her again, digging his fingertips deeper into her flesh. He only teased her for another moment before the pair separated to finish shedding their clothing.

He dragged his nails over her waist, teasing her with rolls of his thumb just above where he knew she wanted him, but she arched her back and shifted her hips to change that, and he smiled at her reaction to the touch against the sensitive bundle of nerves before bringing his lips back to hers once more. She exhaled sharply through her nose, breath tickling his cheek, tongue seeking his in a manic dance. He pulled back to kiss her cheek, then her neck, rolling his thumb harder and faster, and she lolled her head back, mouth slack in an expression he wanted to memorize every detail of. She closed her mouth, biting her lip, breath hitching as she languished in the bliss Noctis was giving her, a twist of his wrist allowing him to slip his fingers inside her, driving her even more wild. She could feel him pressing himself against her thigh, rocking his hips and she couldn't bear the injustice. She strained to reach for him through the awkward angle, eventually needing to whisper _let me touch you_ to get him to move higher over her so she could reach him, and he muffled his groan by burying his face in the crook of her neck.

Nocits wanted to join with her, slide inside her and rock against her until they both reached an oblivion that would guarantee they would sleep throughout the night. Her breath was rising, chest rising and falling, the hand curled around him threatening to end things before he wanted to, and he gripped her wrist to pin it next to her head to cease her motions. He tried to remember where he would have a condom, and drew back suddenly. _Fuck!_ He thought when he remembered they were back in Altissia and he had never bought any in Lestallum.

"Noct?" She strained to control her tone, trying to control her breathing. She had been on the verge of climax when he drew back away from her so suddenly, and cursed herself for being so _quiet_ as Noctis has reminded her earlier. "I was…" she trailed off, cheeks flushing. She realized she had never told him before when she had been close, and felt suddenly embrassed, biting down on her lip.

"Oh shit… sorry…" he whispered back, catching her meaning. "I guess I need to make it up to you." He paused, nibbling on his bottom lip, "I… I don't have any protection…" he admitted. The pair hesitated for a moment, both feeling that lips and hands would not satisfy their needs.

"Can you pull out on time?" she asked bluntly, and after a brief pause he nodded.

"Can we risk it?"

"It's a safe week." She explained, not wanting to provide more detail and risk dampening the mood any further. He nodded, cupping her cheek to draw her in for a kiss. Simple at first, but the fire returned quickly, and he pushed her down, laying over her. His hand went back between her legs, feeling his effects on her and she was quick to bring a hand between them, sliding her fingers around him and guided him into her. He buried his face against her neck to muffle the groan of feeling _her_ with no barrier between them, pausing to keep from climaxing at the mere intimacy. After a few moments he began to rock his hips, keeping a slow languid pace.

Lunafreya's nails dug into his back, her deep sigh almost a moan. Were their friends not so close hey may have risked a plea to let him hear her voice, but focused on her breathing and the way she writhed beneath him. Her hips moved with him, making the most of every thrust, toes curled and fingers digging deeper into his back. He knew he would have marks in the morning but loved the blissful sting as she scratched her passions into his back.

"I love you…" he whispered against her, and she whimpered in reply, placing a clumsy kiss on his ear with an awkward tilt of her head, feeling his lips immediately move to her neck.

"Love you…" she replied, and arched her back when his pace changed. Her mouth fell slack, breath hitching and Noctis knew he had her back to the edge he had pulled her away from earlier. Not wanting to disappoint his beloved he lifted himself slightly to fit a hand between them, fingers finding her sensitive center and working her with his fingers as he began to madly thrust into her. The new action did the trick after several moments he felt her tense around him, a series of sighs and and stuttered breaths tell him had had chased her to her peak. She clung to him, even as she grew slack around him. He resisted the urge to bite her neck, wondering how hot she would look with a lovely red mark left by _him_ as a reminder of this night, and withdrew from her, not wanting to risk anything. She reached for him, helping him find his release. He strained not to let out a vocal grunt, face scrunched because _gods damn_ did she feel amazing, and he wondered if it was worth the gamble to take her like this every night, without a latex barrier.

"That… that was amazing." She smiled up at him. Noctis leaned down and kissed her before rolling away to dig through his bag to find something to use for aftercare. Lunafreya redressed as he tended to himself, and he slid his sleep pants back on and decided to remain shirtless before crawling up next to her, deciding it was too warm to climb into his sleeping bag. Lunafreya curled up to him, a thumb idly brushing against his chest.

"You… you mentioned how quiet I am. When we're together." She started after several moments of silence, her voice low. "That doesn't mean I'm not enjoying every moment of being with you." She continued, and felt her cheeks heating up. Her heart that was still trying to slow down, started back up again, and she could feel the throbbing in her ears.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way." He quickly countered, "I just mean… you were worried about being heard. I can tell when you, y'know, when I umm… help you get there." He didn't know why he felt so embarrassed talking about this with her. They had shared intimate thoughts and words through their notebooks and on their far-too infrequent nights together.

"I don't make you doubt yourself? Because you're quite the adept lover." She smiled now, feeling reassured and letting her eyes close, feeling the patterns Noctis was slowly tracing on her side where his hand was resting under her shirt.

"You have a lot of basis for comparison?" he teased, "I kid I kid!" he quickly defended at the look she was giving him. "No, you don't make me doubt myself." He chuckled lightly and tugged her into an awkward half-half.

"Hmm good… because that would be quite the shame. You're far too good at that…"

"Heh… love you." He smiled.

"Love you too."

They closed their eyes listening to the muffled sound of Gladiolus's music, his deep baritone exchanging stories with Crowe's, punctuated by the occasional laughter. They focused on these sounds rather than the hissing that surrounded them, and drifted into a fragile sleep.


	17. Nightmares

I never wanted there to be a gap this long between chapters, but life got very... intense for a couple weeks. Writing became damn near impossible. Something happened that occupied my time for a couple weeks but things are back to normal. Me, the mister, and the baby are all well so fear not. This chapter is shorter than my usual, I apologize, but I wanted to get something posted for you. I plan to have another chapter written and posted by the end of the weekend if all goes well. I do hope you all continue to enjoy this story and what's to come!

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Lunafreya awoke for the fourth time that evening she decided that sleep was a fruitless endeavor. The inside of the tent was still dark, and she wondered how long away the dawn was. She still had a throb behind her eyes and the tension had spread through the muscles in her neck. Hissing still surrounded the camp, as well as what she assumed was the sound of the Iron Giant dragging its immense cleaver behind it as it paced around the border. _At least the haven held_. She knit her brows as she thought of Hammerhead, and closed her eyes to whisper a short prayer for its citizens. She looked over at Noctis was not surprised to find him fast asleep, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest for a few moments before sitting up, stretching and rolling her shoulders to try and ease some of the tension in her neck before reaching for the clothing she had purchased in Lestallum to dress, unzipping the tent to slip out.

The fire was dim but still crackling. The chair previously occupied by Gladiolus was empty, though she recognized Crowe's braids, hair rustling as she bounced her leg. She cleared her throat as she stood, offering her shield a light wave when she turned towards the sound.

"Hey Sparkles. Couldn't sleep?" The Oracle shook her head, and with a wave of Crowe's hand sat in the chair beside her previously occupied by Gladiolus. She noted the seat was still warm, and a long stick was on the ground in front of her.

"Gladiolus recently retire for the evening?" she inquired.

"Just a little while ago. Figured that's what woke you up."

"What's the hour?" She pulled her phone from her pocket, face illuminated as the screen lit up.

"Four."

"Aren't you tired yourself?" Crowe couldn't help the smile at her charge's concern for her, and shifted slightly in her seat,

"Tired? Yeah. My ass sore from this damn chair? Yeah. But like hell if I can sleep with _that_ two meters away." She pointed to where the pacing daemons. The perimeter of the haven was fairly lit from the pacing bombs, and Lunafreya noticed a humanoid form further away from the others, and she wondered if it was merely her imagination causing illusions from the nearby foliage. "Before you worry I can have the big guy take my bike and I'll pass out in the back of that fancy-ass car you guys have. Looks cozier than a tent anyway." She offered, holding up a palm to forestall any suggestions for sleep from Lunafreya.

"I can take a turn as watch, if that's your concern." She offered regardless, uncurling her knit fingers and resting her hands on her knees. "Not quite fair that you and Gladiolus are the only ones to keep watch over the haven."

"Neither of us could sleep. Trust me, I have no qualms kickin' someone awake if I'm ready to go into a coma for a few hours." She forced a laugh, sighing at the end and shifted in her chair again before standing, complaining how stiff she felt.

"I could help ease your tension." She offered after a couple seconds of silence, eyes trained on the figures pacing across from her. She winced when the Iron Giant grew tired of dragging its cleaver and began another assault on the haven, the throbbing behind her eyes intensifying and she wrestled her urge to rub at her temples.

"Nothing a little pacing won't fix. Thanks though." The new movement garnered most of the attention of the bombs who began to concentrate on the edge of the haven Crowe was closest to, hovering back and forth as she paced the hissing growing louder and two of them trembling, and beginning to inflate. One of them had nearly tripled in size, eyes rolling back as it began to quiver more violently.

"Back up, quick!" Lunafreya shouted, images flashing behind her eyes of a devastated city and charred corpses. Crowe backpedaled away from the perimeter, eyes fixed on the bombs that were inflating.

"Tell me their name is just some cheeky moniker 'cause they look like those cartoony bombs in kid shows."

"I fear otherwise."

"Guess its time to test this haven…" Crowe reached an arm out towards Lunafreya, digging her fingers into her upper arm as her hand clamped around her and tugged her backwards. Crowe side-stepped and lifted an arm, covering her face and turning her back towards the daemons a moment before they were forced to cover their eyes from the sudden flash. Both were knocked back by a rush of scalding air. Both let out a deep grunt as they impacted the ground, Lunafreya immediately curling onto her side and clutching her ribs, pathetic wheezing gasps escaping her throat as she strained to find her breath. Crowe yelped when she hit the ground, shifting to a groan as the pain across her skin registered. She pressed her forehead against the ground after rolling to her knees, arms curled and held away from her body to keep them from touching anything and trying to figure out how to tear this damn shirt off her back. "Luna?" she looked over to see the Oracle on her side, "Hey… Luna…? C'mon, talk to me." She groaned through shaky breaths. Her body refused to move to check on the young woman, words difficult to form as pain began to overwhelm her every sense.

"I… I'm okay." She managed to gasp out after air finally filled her lungs. The effort of such a deep breath made her ribs protest, and she turned to look at her arm which was beginning to sting. With the dim firelight she could see a discoloration on her skin, and looked up to Crowe, gasping when she noticed the state she was in. "Let me help you." She whispered. The tents around them were rustling and she ignored everyone stumbling from them to investigate the source of the chaos, tuning out their voices to find her light, hands reaching towards Crowe,

"I'll be fine." Lunafreya ignored Noctis's voice asking if she was all right, and his friends asking them what happened.

"I can help." She could see the blisters forming on Crowe's skin, and the charring on the back of her shirt. She didn't offer a second protest as Lunafreya's hands lightly cupped her face, the gesture dropping the hand that had reached for her shouder. She pressed her forehead lightly against Crowe's and whispered a prayer. Crowe felt the mind-altering agony sparking across her nerves begin to fade. The pain soothed to an annoying tingling sensation, her tensed limbs relaxing and she felt as if she could collapse right into the woman's arms. "How do you feel?"

"Better… a _lot_ better. Shit. Those sparklefingers of yours save the day again! What about you?" she inquired. Lunafreya managed a smile, focusing her breathing through her nose to keep it leveled. She nodded at Crowe and felt a hand on her shoulder,

"What the hell happened, you okay?!" She turned to look up at Noctis, eyes wide and hair sticking in odd angles. He had only pulled on his boxers, the rest of him bare and she flushed despite herself and squinted hard to reorient her mind.

"I-" she looked around briefly at the others, her first urge to insist she was all right. "I admit I think my arm is burned a bit. Though not as badly as Crowe, please check her first. She protected me when one of the bombs exploded." She explained, looking over at her shield who was assessing herself.

"I go to bed for ten minutes and you blow yourself up just to prove what a badass you are?" Gladiolus teased, "did good. Princess barely has a scratch on her." He added quickly, crossing his arms over his chest and smiling, "did good. Official Shield now! Got the scars to prove it."

"I did the best I could but there is always a degree of scarring. They may fade a bit-" Lunafreya interjected,

"You did fine, and the scars are barely noticeable it seems... Thanks. You don't look unharmed though." She noted how stiff she was holding herself, and the way she was hovering her arm away from her body the way she had been a moment ago. "Lemme see that," she reached out towards her wrist, gesturing for Lunafreya to let her assess her arm. She did so after a moment of hesitation, a sharp intake of breath through her teeth at the contact with the sensitive skin. Noctis had knelt down beside her, and watched Crowe checking her arm, the woman tisking after a moment and pulling her phone from her pocket to use the flashlight. Now illuminated she saw the deep red covering most of her arm, and withdrew her grip,

"Shit. Can't you cure yourself or something"

"I'm afraid not."

"Well that's about as fair as playing poker with a toddler! And the fuckin' Astrals want you to help them?" she rolled her eyes, and sighed. "We got anything lying around that'll help?"

"I purchased some supplies when we were in Lestallum." Ignis offered after a yawn, feeling guilty that he could _yawn_ of all things as he looked at the injured pair. He did a quick scan of the area around him and noticed there were far fewer bombs than before, and the Iron Giant was nowhere to be seen. "Quite odd… it appears our guests have left."

"Probably fucked of if they were evaporated by the asshole who wanted to blow up." Crowe replied.

"It… it appears so." He left into his tent, and emerged with a bag, from which he pulled out several objects. "Noctis, I purchased some drinks perhaps you could convert this into a potion for the Lady?"

"Yeah, if that's what she needs." He reached out for it, channeling his magic after pulling the tab to keep the can from exploding. He had learned the hard way as a child not to convert these energy drinks while still sealed. "Here," he held it out to her but Ignis was quick to reach for it. Lunafreya noticed the way his brows were knit, and the muscles of his jaw stood out matching the clear tension in his neck. With the potion back in Ignis's hands she noted the way his fingertips dug into his upper arms and knew trying to tell him to relax would be a fruitless waste of energy and turned her attention back to Ignis, knowing allowing him to tend to her would ease him.

"Potions work better when applied directly to a wound, when the injury is external. Drinking them is more beneficial when one has injuries such a fracture, or a disturbance to the soft tissues. Prompto, could you please get me a clean bowl from my cooking set?" he asked. The blond man nodded, glad for the chance to move purposefully rather than bounce and place and fight the urge to drive everyone to their wits end by pacing. He fetched the aforementioned item, holding it out with a shaking hand to Ignis. He poured some of the potion into the bowl, soaking pads of nonwoven gauze before reaching for a bottle of clear liquid, "it is merely sterile water but it may still sting the sensitive tissue. I do apologize." She wanted to comment this was not her first time on the receiving end of first aid, but bit back the poor excuse of reassurance and simply nodded at him. She winced slightly as he carefully poured the water over her burn, patting at it and applying the potion-soaked gauze and wrapping her limb.

"It tingles a bit." She remarked as the pain faded replaced by the cool sting of the potion. "It feels quite a bit better. Thank you." She smiled at him. "and Crowe… thank you. You got severely burned to protect me."

"Hey I'm your shield right? S'what I'm for!" she gave her a thumbs up, and Lunafreya couldn't help but frown.

"Does not mean that I wish for you to be injured on my behalf."

"So… you're both okay?" Prompto asked, arms crossed in front of his chest, bouncing on his heels.

"I feel quite a bit better, thanks to Crowe and Ignis." She assured, and Crowe echoed her sentiments be it less eloquently stated. She let out a yelp from startle and pain as Noctis pulled her into his arms, Prompto nearly tripping over one of the camp chairs as he flinched away from the pair at her yelp, deep lines etching his face as he frowned at her reaction to the Princes attempt to embrace her. He hoped that it wasn't his picture of them sharing a bit of affection that caused her reaction, drumming his fingers against his arm as he kicked himself for being so intrusive to their little moment at the dock.

"Stop scaring me like that." Noctis whispered against her hair, squinting his eyes shut to prevent the burning from blossoming into tears.

"Ribs…" she whimpered. She flushed when she realized she said the word aloud, and how quickly Noctis withdrew his arms from her, and she folded her arms around herself wishing for the privacy of their tent. The subsequent silence from everyone only made her cheeks burn deeper. "I'll be all right I just aggravated them a bit." She tried to offer. Prompto winced again, and wished that it _had_ just been his picture, and found himself pacing around near the chairs.

"Perhaps drinking a potion would not be unwise." Ignis suggested, looking up at Prompto, "and please. Cease your pacing, the daemons seem to like it." He stopped in place, turning to look at the bombs who had clustered together on the edge of the haven closest to him, and dropped himself into a camp chair and bounced his legs instead.

"How are you shaking the damn _rocks_ with your legs?!" Gladiolus asked, walking a few paces away from Prompto before he felt the urge to punch him just to get him to stop being so damn restless, he was feeling tense enough as it was without Prompto threatening to drill a hole into the ground.

"You've already spent one curative on me. How many did you purchase?" Lunafreya answered when Ignis made a second offer of potion, not allowing his friends to provide Lunafreya an excuse to neglect herself, recalling tales Noctis had shared about her tendencies.

"I purchased them for this very type of situation." Ignis answered back. "It matters not how many I purchased, what matters now is that you need one."

"Save it for a day one of us is more gravely injured. I can brave a bit of tenderness." She offered back. Ignis pushed his glasses back up his nose when he lifted his gaze from the bag he had been reaching into and shrugged.

"You are as stubborn as Noctis is seems," he smiled lightly at her and sighed. "I have an adequate supply if that is your concern, but I shall not force something upon you."

"Maybe you should…" Noctis nudged her lightly. He wasn't sure giving her a flirty excuse to use the potion was wise in her fragile state.

"You saved us a few curatives by fixin' up Crowe. I think you earned that second potion." Gladiolus commented.

"He has a good point." Prompto agreed, speaking even faster than usual.

"I know I'll sleep a hell of a lot better knowing you aren't curled up in a pain ball in that tent." Crowe added. "And it's not like cans of hyper-sweetened caffeine are expensive. We can afford some more once we get low." She added. Prompto was nodded his agreement, and had gone from bouncing his legs to a light tap of his foot as he occupied his hands with his camera.

"If anything take one to be your normal glowy photogenic self so I can snap a picture of our two badass mages surviving a _daemon explosion_." He balanced his camera in his lap as he made a wide energetic gesture with his arms, making a lout _**boom**_ with his voice.

"If you're all going to insist." Lunafreya sighed, and looked up at Ignis to nod at him.

"You're a part of us too Luna…" Noctis assured her when he saw the stiff way she was sitting, and the rigidity in her hand when she reached for the can to pass to Noctis to imbune with whatever magics it took. She found it quite curious he could creature a curative, yet couldn't tap into these white powers to heal more directly. She held her curiosity to herself, not wishing for him to feel guilty at the state of either herself or Crowe. He handed her the can and she sipped at it, and wondered if she had ever drank something so sweet since she was a child.

"Is this thing pure sugar?" she asked, and happily sipped it again, enjoying the way the bubbled tickled her nose almost threatening a sneeze, a pleasant acidic tang hitting the back of her tongue.

"You _like_ the taste of those things? Always hated them." Gladiolus commented, wrinkling his nose. "Figured you would chug the thing."

"The bubbles make that a bit difficult." She answered back, and turned her attention back to her drink. Several sips later she pressed the back of her fist against her mouth, trying to control the burp caught in her throat, and Crowe barked a laugh beside her, slapping her hard on the back which caused a second, much louder, burp. Lunafreya slapped her hand over her mouth, cheeks burning and the heat spreading to her ears. The others chuckled at her, and she turned a glare to Noctis who was giggling beside her. "I'm sorry?" she apologized, and pressed the can back to her lips to focus her attention back on drinking her potion.

"Oh hell Sparkles, it's just kinda funny gettin' to see you be a _person_." Lunafreya smiled at that, and was happy to find the potion had taken effect quickly. A few more large sips, and a third suppressed burp later, and she was handing Ignis the empty can to place with the one he had used earlier to bandage her to recycle later.

"Should we try to get some more sleep?" Prompto asked, back to bouncing his legs.

"Pretty sure I'm not sleeping…" Crowe replied, any grogginess washed away from the combination of panic and pain.

"Rest will help finish your healing. I did what I could, but you should also rest to allow your body to heal what I could not." Lunafreya counted, and nodded when Ignis echoed her sentiment.

"Fine. But no bitching if watching shit on my phone keeps you up." She pointed.

"I have an idea to help us all sleep a little better," Prompto spoke up, "why don't we move the tents a little closer together and leave the flaps open?"

"Not an unwise suggestion." Ignis responded, and the others quickly voiced their agreements. Even Lunafreya could not argue with the idea, despite her own insecurity at the thought of not having a barrier to hide behind.

"Okay before we go to bed can I ask the question we're all wondering? What the hell actually happened?!" Gladiolus interrupted, astonished that no one else was prodding the two now that they had been tended to and appeared far less panicked than when they first burst out of their tents in response to a flash bright enough to wake them up echoed by a sound that he swore would have his ears ringing for a month.

"Fuckin bomb lived up to its name. Blew up, and the haven is probably why we just got burned and not got dead." She explained. "I think it scared off the Iron Giant and turned the other bombs into ash. Hey, silver lining!" she threw her hands up to punctuate her explanation.

"So they just sit there hovering all night then just decide, eh, I'll go all boom." Prompto inquired, shrugging to mimic the imaginary bomb. Crowe nodded, a bit embarrassed to admit her aching butt almost got them killed by prompting her to pace. She glanced at Lunafreya and was relieved that the princess provided no commentary.

"These things make no sense." Gladiolus complained, gesturing at the bombs. He counted them for the forth time since coming out of his tent, and was glad that the number was not rising. "Well I'm gonna try to pass out. I don't have the ability to coma like Noct but I'm pretty damn tired. You sure you two are okay?" he asked. Lunafreya nodded and Crowe gave him a thumbs up. He returned the gesture and climbed into his tent, keeping the flap open as Prompto has suggested, said man following his friend equally eager to attempt sleep and put this night behind him, convinced the light of day was all they needed. Ignis checked on the two women as well, and requested to inspect Lunafreya's bandage before he felt satisfied that he could return to his own tent.

"I must admit now that the worst of the fright has worn off I'm quite tired." Lunafreya admitted, and gestured to their tent. They were too tired to pull the tent closer to the others, but did leave the tent flap open. Crowe had gone to lay down as well, the fire gently crackling and fading as the bombs continued to hiss around them, the muffled voices and sounds coming from Crowe's phone a welcome addition to provide anything to listen to other than the daemons.

"How you feeling?" Noctis asked once they had both collapsed onto their sleeping bags.

"Sore, but quite a bit better." She answered, deciding that pretending she was in better shape than she was would only lead him to prodding her until she admitted her true state. "Crowe protected me from a lot of the heat but I hit the ground a bit hard so my ribs were not pleased with me." She clarified. "though the potion did help. Thank you for making them for me."

"And your arm?"

"Unless I actually think much on it, I don't even notice it. Ignis did quite a lovely job."

"Yeah he's spent too long taking care of my sorry ass to not figure out how to cook and do first aid. Especially with Gladiolus being my swords trainer. Lots and lots of first aid needed." He chuckled. "Ignis once begged him to take it easy on me so he'd have a break from patching me back together!" he chuckled.

"Prompto stop moving those damn legs of yours before I make you sleep outside!" Gladiolus's voice shouted suddenly. The noise registered with Lunafreya before the words did and she sat up sharply, gasping and covering her ribs for a moment. The pain eased nearly as fast as it appeared but Noctis was quick to sit up and wind his hands around her waist, clasping them in her lap as he gently tugged her until her back rested against his chest.

"You okay?" asked again, and felt the nod of her head before she let more of her weight lean against him. "It's okay…" he whispered, pressing his lips to her neck with how stiff she felt in his arms. The gesture didn't help her relax, and her fingers curled around his tighter,

"The tent flap." She whispered, so low she could hardly hear herself. He began to draw back from her, but her fingers gripped him tighter. "Don't…" she pleaded. "I'm sorry I'm so… tense. But that doesn't not mean I don't want your arms around me." She whispered, chewing on her bottom lip. "Let's lie back down." She asked. Noctis helped guide her back down. It took some awkward shuffling but they had their bed rolls touching so he could nestle her in his arms, his knees tucked behind hers and her back pressed against his chest. He felt a bit too warm curled so close to her, but was willing to deal with the discomfort if it meant she was content.

"We should tell my dad Crowe earned her Shield badge officially today." He stated.

"I cannot argue that." She hoped the pale pink scars would fade in time, but tried to force the thoughts from her mind and focus on the pattern of Noctis's breathing, the way his fingers tickled her skin as they trailed up and down her arms. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the flash and the image of Crowe's burns melting into the charred bodies she saw in that leveled city back in Tenebrae, trying not to humor the nightmares that threatened to plague her mind of what may have happened to Hammerhead should they be attacked again. Her mind drifted to times she felt safe, and happy. And a little boy in a wheelchair in the sylleblossums fields of Tenebrae filled her thoughts.

"Remember when we were children and playing outside, you wanted to play tag but couldn't yet stand? I tried to tell you I was quite content to sit outside with you but you insisted that you wanted to play and as soon as you stood up Umbra pulled on your pant leg to try and get you to sit back down but you fell instead?" she chuckled at the mental memory.

"Yeah I scraped up my knees… your mom fixed it and we went back inside to watch a movie while our parents made us some hot cocoa and popcorn." He remembered how terribly that afternoon had started, how helpless he had felt. But then his Luna had turned it around and it was one of his fondest memories of a time untainted by the Empire.

"When this is all over… I'd love to lie in a bed with you with no one stalking outside the door, treating ourselves to all the popcorn and hot cocoa our stomachs can handle while binging movies for the entirety of the day." She suggested, smiling at the images that were replacing her dark thoughts. She wanted to reach for this dream for the future, of a day as a normal couple lying in a bed enjoying each other's company.

"I think that's a promise I can keep." He chuckled, kissing the crown of her hair, desiring such a normal life with her without the taint of fear looming over them. Where she could indulge herself in whatever she wanted. To dictate her own days. He wanted to kiss her regardless of who was looking, and hold her whenever the thought took him. To link hands, exchange words, and whisper things to make her blush hard enough to set fire to her ears.

"I love you." She whispered,

"Love you too." Her eyes trained on the open tent flap and she twisted in Noctis's arms so she was facing him, forcing a gap between them. She reached her hand to stroke his cheek, giving him a smile to try and erase the furrow in his brow. She held herself up slightly on her forearms so she could lean into him and kiss him to prevent his protest before settling onto her side, her hand reaching for his and gripping it tight. Noctis bit his bottom lip, debating trying to reassure her about his friends but took it as a small victory she was willing to keep the tent open at all and closed his eyes.

When Noctis finally emerged from the tent it was to the sight of a nearly fully packed camp. When he had first awoken he laid on his back, frowning but not surprised to find Lunafreya had already gotten up. His night had been plagued with vivid terrors of daemons plaguing Lucis, of Hammerhead on fire, blackened frames are cars burning in the middle of the road and havens cracking open as daemons flooded unchecked to attack hunters trying to find sanctuary in the dark. He looked at the haven expecting to find a large crack down the middle, the runes protecting the place split open but with a sigh found them still intact with their distinct faint glow. His eyes scanned around and saw the ground around the northern edge of the haven was charred, and Noctis couldn't help the brief jolt of terror as he wondered what would have happened had the magic around the haven not protected them.

"He has finally joined the living." Ignis remarked,

"Was a little worried I was gonna need to check your pulse." Prompto added, giving the groggy prince a wink and a thumbs-up gesture, which Noctis replied to with a middle finger. He stretched, feeling his lower back and left shoulder pop, groaning with relief.

"I saved you some breakfast Noct. Nothing fancy," he explained and handed him a plate of toast and eggs. He felt a little guilty eating while everyone was working and stopped Gladiolus from packing up the tent he shared with Lunafreya, insisting he would pack it himself once he ate his meal. He washed the food down with some cold coffee, foregoing sugar and powdered creamer to just get the caffeine into his system and not hold them up anymore.

"Luna… you have a minute?" Noctis called over to her between taking another bite of toast topped with cold scrambled eggs.

"Of course." She answered, smile dropping when she noted the tension in his shoulders. She sat down next to him. Her eyes watched the others milling about the camp, packing things up. It was second nature to tune her focus to their conversations, but Noctis's voice pulled her attention back to him after he had swallowed his bite.

"With everything… I think it's time to make that covenant with Ramuh." He explained. "After Hammerhead and last night… something is just… _wrong._ I was having nightmares all night, kinda like when I was a kid after the crystal chose me." He continued. He shoved another bite of food in his mouth to avoid interrupting what he expected to be protests from Lunafreya, and was surprised to see her give a slight nod of her head.

"The Crystal chose you. If you feel that it is time, I shall awaken him for you. But I will need time to pray." She answered him, folding her hands in her lap, head bowed slightly.

"How long do you need?"

"It is difficult to say." She grimaced, "but it will take time."

"We can pack up the car, unless you think it'll take long enough we should stay put." She shook her head, assuring him she doubted that such a length would be needed. The idea of remaining at the camp while the others packed put her ill at ease, but Noctis assured her that what she was doing was important enough that she need not feel guilty. He got up with a light groan, rubbing at the scar tissue on his lower back before approaching his friends. "Hey… guys." They all turned to him, pausing in the midst of their various tasks.

"Sup?" Gladiolus asked.

"I need to make the covenant with Ramuh. And Luna's gonna need some time to pray before waking him." He explained.

"You ready for that?" Prompto asked with a frown.

"It's what we're out here to do, right?" he answered back. Prompto winced, and occupied himself by shifting the weight of his bag and chair on his shoulder, muttering about getting his things to the car and would return to help with the rest.

"You feel you are ready to begin these covenants, would you not rather more royal arms prior?" Ignis inquired, but Noctis shook his head in reply and explained to his friends as he had done to Lunafreya. Ignis pushed his glasses up his nose before standing to lift his bag over his shoulder, cooking equipment gripped in his other hand. Gladiolus swore and walked after Prompto. Noctis winced at the new tension in his friends, and hoped it would fade once this first covenant was forged. Hell, maybe they'd all have a bit more confidence with an Astral on their side. "Crowe, can watch over Luna while she prays? I'll help pack up your stuff."

"Yeah, sure. S'my job, right?" Crowe gave a thumbs up and a grin, "beats carrying all the heavy shit all the way to the car." She added.

"Hey, you arms," he noted, pointing at her. Crowe quirked a brow and looked down at her arms, turning them over and tilting her head,

"Yeah? They're arms."

"The scars… they're pretty much gone." Crowe's brows lifted with this line, and inspected her arms closer.

"Shit, you're right. Except for a couple small pink spots you'd never know… man, Sparkles is a miracle worker." She marveled at the smoothness of the skin on her arms as she traced her fingers over where her burns had been the night before, and pondered over the state of her back. She rolled her shoulders and twisted in exaggerated motions but felt no burning or tugging she would expect from tight scar tissue. "You go pack the stuff up. I'll keep her safe." She assured him, making a _shoo_ gesture before turning to see where Lunafreya had knelt down, her hands on her lap and head bowed at the edge of the haven, her back to the others. She walked over to her and sat down a couple paces away, opening her mouth to announce her presence but the rigid posture and quiet whispers coming from the Oracle changed her mind.


	18. Ramuh

I wanted to get this out last weekend to make up for my long pause but life had other plans. But nonetheless I do hope you enjoy!

* * *

Shy of two hours had passed without Lunafreya moving from her position. Crowe had paced around the haven multiple times before asking the others to games of cards, which was slowed by their pauses to tend to their current round of King's Knight on their phone. After an hour of watching them play she agreed to install it onto her own device and was pleasantly surprised to find she actually enjoyed the game. When the Oracle stood the others turned their heads in her direction, not entirely sure what to expect.

"Welcome back Sparkles, how's those knees?" Crowe asked, everyone's posture relaxing.

"Stiff, nothing a bit of walking can not clear." She answered. "To the west we'll find an area with forests, near the edge of the mountains." She explained.

"How'd you know that?" Crowe asked. Lunafreya opened her mouth and closed it, shaking her head.

"A bit difficult to explain. As Oracle I am gifted with being able to commune with the Astrals, though they sleep it is as if I can hear an echo from when they spoke generations ago." She explained.

"So time to head to the car?" Noctis asked her, and she nodded in reply. The others got up, glad for the chance to get away from the haven and the mounting boredom. She frowned slightly at having encouraged them to pack up earlier, the prayers having taken longer than she initially expected. She could not help a cursory glance at the scorched rock where the bomb had exploded before catching up to Noctis who waited for her to walk beside him, her Shield taking rear guard several paces behind. Noctis reached out and lightly brushed Lunafreya's hand with his fingers before grasping her hand, smiling when she didn't pull away and let him link his fingers with hers.

They all gathered in the Regalia, Crowe on her motorcycle again taking rear guard as Lunafreya gave directions to Ignis once they set onto the road. Gladiolus reached forward and played with the radio stations until he found something he liked and settled back against the seat to open the book he had removed from his camp back prior to placing it in the trunk. Ignis complained that he should have thought of keeping a book in his bag, lamenting the fact that he had brought all of his books to Altissia.

"This is a pleasant song." Lunafreya remarked quietly, her focus on the landscape out the windows. They passed by a tree she was concerned was clearly dead, its branches devoid of green, some sparse grey leaves remaining on limp branches.

"Huh? Yeah. Was pretty popular back in Insomnia but I can never really remember the name. Never paid attention." Noctis admitted. She replied with a shrug, and Noctis asked for Gladiolus to tune the volume up, the song becoming clearer with the increased volume. Noctis could see her small smile in her reflection off the car's tinted window. It brought a grin to his own lips and he slouched in his seat to fold his hands behind his head and close his eyes for a few moments.

"Noct… wake up. Hey…" Noctis groaned as the world strained to come into focus, his body trying to demand he simply close his eyes again and drift back. "Noct… come on." She shook him. "Perhaps that cold coffee was not enough." She chuckled, and her voice became dimmer for a moment, "Ignis, perhaps your suggestion to prepare more coffee was not without some merit." She chuckled, and the delightful sound was enough motivation to drag himself away from the call of sleep.

"I'm getting' up." He moaned, sitting up and rubbing the back of his neck, aware of the ache from the prolonged awkward position he had been in. "Where are we?"

"After a bit of driving I realized we were entering a region of Lucis I recall Wiz's chocobo ranch was located, and began to see road signs for it."

"Hell yeah! Chocobos! Come on, we gotta see the chocobos!" Prompto pleaded.

"We really gotta make this covenant." Noctis yawned, "But I haven't seen Wiz since I was a kid… I guess we could make a quick stop. Plus I'm starving!" He answered.

"Go for a chocobo ride, watch the races, maybe-"

"After the covenant." Noctis interrupted. "I just want to get this done. Before dark… I don't want to feel so damn helpless again." He explained. Prompto muttered a half-whimpered _but chocobos_ and cleared his throat, admitting Nocits was right in a low tone.

"After though?"

"Yeah. Can't really argue with that." He was dragging his friends all over Lucis in this mad quest to help the Oracle save the world. The least he could do was let his friends check out the places _they_ wanted to see. He looked around, and was surprised to see how _green_ it was. He was used to the grey and black world of metal and stone back in Insomnia, save for the Citadel gardens. It almost reminded him of Tenebrae in a way with how filled with life it appeared this region was. Lucis wasn't large enough for simple climate to account for this change, and something nagged at the back of his mind but he pushed it away when he saw a flash from the corner of his eye, turning sharply to see Prompto snapping pictures.

"Oh sorry dude. Just making memories!" Prompto cheerfully proclaimed, and resumed taking photographs of the surrounding foliage, and the sign for Wiz's chocobo post. Noctis smiled when he looked around, recalling the man who taught him how to ride the birds as a child and was happy to see he lived in such a lush environment and could picture nothing but happily kwehing birds.

"Hey Ig, do you remember Wiz?" He asked. Ignis chuckled, nodding, recalling how he had cried the first time Regis had tried to lift him onto one of the birds, only to be soothed once he felt soft feathers and heard the bird almost purring when he pet it. The pair exchanged stories, leading the group up the worn dirt path. The smell left Ignis wrinkling his nose, and Lunafreya couldn't help wrinkling her own nose as well.

"The smell never really bothered me." Noctis commented after noticing the expression on her face. Her cheeks grew pink and she tried to relax her expression and folded her hands together, trying to avoid kneading them.

"I… I never spent much time around animals as a child. Outside of Pryna and Umbra that is." She commented, trying to keep her eyes locked on the path before her. Despite the practical shoes she kept expecting a heel to snag and send her tumbling. Her ankles and knees ached slightly, but they lacked the burn she had come to grow familiar with from her heels. Old blisters on her feet were rubbing inside of the sneakers, and she made a mental note to ask Ignis later for advice on how to avoid the aged callouses from blistering open.

"My dad figured learning how to ride a chocobo would help my rehab after we got back from Tenebrae." Noctis explained, keeping his eyes focused ahead of him to keep his memory from drifting deeper into detail and clinging to this happy feeling he had associated with the giant birds. "Wiz brought his birds to the Citadel just to teach me. Man did that piss off the staff… we didn't' exactly have proper stables and had to turn some of the parking areas into a stable for them." Lunafreya chuckled at that, trying to think of how the Manor staff would have reacted to the same.

"I've never ridden an animal before. My mother would tell stories of people riding anaks or other creatures. But I suppose it wasn't very becoming of a Princess." She explained.

"Well we should learn once we do this covenant. Prompto's dying to ride the birds anyway." Noctis offered.

"Hell yeah I am! I _love_ chocobos!" he exclaimed, and his voice turning sing-songy "I wanna ride my chocobo. All. Day!" He had been frequently finding himself many meters ahead of the group, pausing to let everyone catch up with him and was currently trying to match Noctis's pace to stop from getting ahead of himself. Noctis kept the conversation about the birds, swallowing hard to avoid the taste of bile in the back of his throat and the way his stomach was roiling within him. Beside him Lunafreya was alternating between kneading her fingers, and lacing them with his with a grip that was firmer than usual.

"Will you teach me?"

"Wiz would be a better teacher but I bet he's retired from lessons so you'll have to settle for me." Lunafreya chuckled, shaking her head slightly,

"Oh tisk tisk. Whatever shall I do now? I suppose I will just have to learn to settle for what I have." She sighed, placing her hands on her hips and shaking hear head. Noctis nudged her with his shoulder, the pairing wearing matching smiles. "I kid, Noct."

"It'll probably feel all weird _me_ teaching _you_ something."

"Not so odd. You've taught me more than you think." She smiled, choosing not to elaborate when he quirked his brow at her. The site of the post made Noctis's smile broader, looking every bit the ranch Wiz had described to him. He saw an older man with a familiar, if aged, face wandering about some tables where people were sat enjoying a meal. The scent of the cocobos was mingling with that of food, the _kweh_ ing of the birds punctuating the quiet hum of conversation.

"Well now! I musta gone 'n had a stroke, 'cause I've got to be seein' things!" The voice was deeper, and a bit more gravely, but it was the same voice that had chuckled and soothed Noctis the first time he was thrown off his chocobo. The one who taught him the commands, how to hold and tug the reigns. The one who had childed Gladiolus for laughing at Noctis's enthusiasm and sent his Shield to clean the stables for _being a smartass_ as he had put it.

"Been years." Noctis smiled.

"What's bringin' y'all way out here? Heard on the radio y'all were… anyhow, what I heard clearly ain't true." Wiz hesitate a bit, blinking hard and clamping a firm hand against Noctis's shoulder. "Glad to see you." He turned, brows lifting when his eyes fell upon the blonde woman travelling with the group. He knit his brows, trying to find the recognition behind the fog in his memory. Lunafreya had her hair pulled into a low ponytail, had upon hear head. "Why… it can't be. The Oracle?" he whispered.

"Yes," she smiled, nodded her head at him and clasping her hands before her. "It is a pleasure to meet you." The man bowed his head and she quickly reached out, shaking hear head, "please. No such formalities." She insisted, smiling again when he met her gaze.

"Well hell, my day sure just got brighter. What brings y'all out here?" he asked. Noctis stated they were tending to Lucis, and had come to the post for something to eat since they were in the area. He gestured to the nearest table, and promised that the meal would be on him and to order whatever caught their fancy. Normally one to protest such an offer, Noctis was hesitant to accept the free food from one of his people but Ignis stepped up, expressing the groups gratitude before Wiz left them to enter the post proper.

"I don't like handouts." Noctis sighed.

"He's one of your people who had previously thought you dead. It is polite to accept his offer, and bodes well for our limited finances." He explained. Noctis sighed and sat down, Gladiolus barking how he would never say no to free food and Prompto saying to come gather him once the food came, that he wanted to go pet the chocobos telling Gladiolus to order him anything, he really didn't care.

"I should order him a chocobo sandwich." Gladiolus chuckled.

"Oh that seems… a bit cruel." Lunafreya frowned, then quirked a brow, "Oh… it's not actually chocobo."

"Huh?" Gladiolus looked down at the menu and swore when he realized the name was a joke. The food item was a veggie-burger covered in gysahl greens and served with a side of roasted sweet corn and leide peppers. "I'm gonna order it for him anyway just to see his face when I tell him what it's called."

"Remind me not to get on your bad side." Noctis commented. Lunafreya ordered the same thing, Gladiolus a steak, the others all getting the club sandwich which Noctis's picky palate approved of the lack of vegetables on it.

"So being me up to speed on this covenants thing." Crowe inquired. Noctis lifted a brow, a bit taken aback that the people tasked with protecting his family wouldn't have been brought to speed regarding this topic. Lunafreya kneaded her hands underneath the table and Noctis reached over to clap her hand, giving her a gentle squeeze when she neither pulled away nor returned his gesture.

"The Astrals have been asleep for hundreds of years. As Oracle, I am tasked with waking them for the Crystal's Chosen King," she spoke, her tone level and eyes locked with Crowe's. When she inquired as to _why_ this was necessary, she explained that together they were destined to fight back the Scourge.

"The fuckin' _Gods,_ who build this little rock we call a star, need two little humans to do their work for them?"

"It is not that. They do not have the ability or the power to purge our Star. This Scourge… it is not of our world, nor is it of theirs. The Crystal came to our world, chasing the Scourge and gifted the line of Oracle with the ability to cure it, and it fell asleep as the line of Lucis watched over it until the day it felt it was ready to bless a King with the ability to purge it for good." Lunafreya explained. Crowe rubbed at her temple with two fingers, knitting her brows staring down her charge.

"The fuck did it wait so long for?" She asked, with a confounded open-palmed gesture.

"The Crystal is not of our world, and is beyond our understanding. I simply know that I can hold the bight at bay, cure those that I encounter, and awaken the Astrals for Noctis so he can get rid of it for good. To heal the wound, rather than merely bandage it." She continued. "And only with the power of the Astrals will the Crystal's Chosen be able to purge our Star when combined with its blessing."

"I wonder where the blight came from in the first place." Gladiolus interrupted, both Noctis and Lunafreya shrugging in reply, and offering no theory on the subject. He glanced between the royals, then to Ignis. "Specs knows everything. What's up with the blight?"

"There is little available on this topic." Ignis answered, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"And these daemons that _really_ wanna kill us?"

"Even less." Ignis sighed, stiffening and shifting in his seat, folding his hands on top of the table. Crowe blew out a breath, leaning back in her chair, pushing against the leg of the table to tilt her chair and rocked back and forth a bit, ignoring Ignis's words of caution.

"So we go wake Ramuh, make a covenant, then go harass the others?"

"I need more royal arms first. Prove I'm worthy of the Astrals." Noctis explained.

"So you think just two will be good enough for Ramuh?" Crowe asked. Noctis shrugged, repeating his concerns about the daemons they'd fought and the nightmares he'd had all night. He felt too helpless, and hoped that Ramuh would accept Lunafreya's words.

"We're beside you Noct." Ignis stated in a low tone after a thick silence hung in the air. "We promised the King to be your Crownsguard. To stand by you."

"And walk tall." Noctis parroted his father's words. Lunafreya squeezed his hand then, giving him a nod and a smile when he looked at her. Another silence hung in the air and she looked up, asking Gladiolus about the book he had been reading in the car. He hesitated before admitting it was a fantasy novel, giving Noctis a rude hand gesture and quickly explaining that it was, in fact, about a swordsman who traveled through the country to slay every member of an assassin's guild that had made an attempt on the King's life.

"I enjoy fantasy, though sci-fi is more my favorite." Lunafreya answered him, "perhaps I could borrow that book once you finish?"

"Yeah. Wouldn't have pictured you as the sci-fi type, kinda thought you'd be all into romance books or something."

"Historical fiction is really my favorite. There's this awesome book about a Lucian Knight in the old days who wanted to prove he was a badass and went to steal a crystal from the meteor, but areas of Lucis were occupied by another country at the time so it was considered an act of war."

"Now you got him going." Noctis commented, though he was drowned out by Gladiolus carrying on about the story, and Lunafreya responding in kind with a brief synopsis of her own favorite novels. The food was brought out while the pair discussed books, Noctis talking Ignis into a round of King's Knight. With the food at the table Gladiolus called over to Prompto who came bounding back,

"Man these birds are fluffy! I can't wait to ride them. Did you know they have a race track? We should check it out. So. What did you order me?" he asked.

"Chocobo sandwich." Gladiolus answered him quickly. Lunafreya flushed and looked down at her food, taking a bite of her food.

"Har har."

"I'm serious," he grabbed the menu off the table, tapping at the picture of the word, trying to keep it far enough away that reading the fine print stating it was a vegetable dish would be impossible.

"th… they _eat_ chocobos? But… they're so cute! And smart! That's messed up man!" He stood up, the other patrons of the post looking their way.

"Prompto sit down, and please read the description."

"Ruin my fun!" Gladiolus complained. Prompto frowned, snatching the menu away from Gladiolus and reading it.

"Oh. It's a joke." He laughed, sitting down in his chair. "You suck!" he shouted to Gladiolus, who laughed. "Huh… never actually had a veggie burger before." He curled his lip a little, picking up the sandwich and giving it a sniff. "Smells okay."

"It's quite good." Lunafreya assured, and couldn't help feeling a bit defensive. Prompto shrugged, taking a small bite. It was quickly followed by a second.

"Why have I never had these?! It's like all the taste of a taco mashed together."

"I think it's a black bean burger they labeled as a veggie burger."

"Either way, s'good! Good call man." The group ate, sipping at the sugary drinks they had ordered with their meals, with the exception of Ignis who was satisfied with a glass of water. With bellies full and moods elevated, they bid farewell to Wiz with a promise to return shortly if only to prevent Prompto from spontaneously combusting.

A path led away from Wiz's Chocobo Post and Lunafreya led the way towards where she needed to be to awaken Ramuh. Crowe stood beside her, Noctis on her other side. They talked while they walked, until Lunafreya eventually pointed ahead of them,

"Down there." She stated, "that small clearing with the black rocks. That is the place where Ramuh returned to his slumber from our world." Noctis took a deep breath, letting it out slowly through his nose and reaching for Lunafreya's hand. She gave it a light squeeze, cheeks flushing and fighting with her instinct to pull her hand away and her desire to keep it tightly clamped in his. They approached the area in silence, Prompto's few attempts at engaging his friends in conversation ending in brief replies and he eventually gave in to the quiet.

Lunafreya halted her steps when she saw Gentiana approach, though none could have told from where. She nodded her head to the woman, the pair exchanging smiles before Gentiana placed a hand on Lunafreya's shoulder. The others halted their approach, startled by the sudden apparition. Crowe cursed under her breath, Ignis whiserping _A messenger. Loyal to the Oracle._ In response to Gladiolus's _what in the hell?_ The women exchanged quiet words before Lunafreya turned to the others, looking from Crowe to Gladiolus. She let out a slow breath,

"I fear you may not like how things may appear as I call to Ramuh to awaken him. Please do not interfere."

"If you insist I'll sit my pretty ass down and watch the show." Crowe replied, her tone lacking her usual edge, brows knit. She bit her bottom lip, clamping a hand down on Lunafreya's shoulder. She nodded at her, taking a step back and crossed her arms, shifting her weight to her left leg.

"Noct, please, I plead with you as well to not interfere."

"But-"

"You know as well as I that we must forge these pacts with the Astrals if we are to purge our Star. So no one will ever again writhe with the blight or watch a loved one die."

"I-" he looked at her, how she stood tall with her shoulders squared. Her hands remained motionless at her sides, and her eyes locked with his. "Okay."

"Gladiolus, I must ask of you. Please, ensure that Noct keeps his word. It is not that I doubt you," she added, gaze shifting back to Noctis, reaching a palm out to his cheek, thumb grazing his cheekbone. She licked her bottom lip as they held each other's eyes for a moment longer before she turned, left hand reaching out and in a flash of light her trident appeared in her hand. She stepped forward with long strides and held her arm out and slammed the bottom of her trident into the ground, the sharp clang of the metal on rock echoing through the clearing.

She opened her mouth, from which came a song of haunting beauty. The others shivered, eyes fixed on their Oracle as the foreign words came forth in her voice, the gentle song ringing out through the trees. Noctis felt a chill run through him, and couldn't help the thought of why had he never heard her sing before? Her song continued, and a gentle rumble and dimming light snagged their attention, looking up at the sky where roiling grey-black clouds were forming and twirling around a common center above where Lunafreya was speaking in the tongue of the Astrals.

"Ramuh!" the sudden shift made Noctis flinch, his eyes snapping back to her. She gripped her trident, looking up into the swirling mass of clouds and called the Astral's name again. Lightning spiderwebbed across the sky, echoed nearly immediately by a crack of thunder so loud he felt it deep in his gut. Lightning struck the ground, a flash of violet so bright they were forced to cover their eyes, a powerful pain shooting through them and resounding through their heads. Noctis felt the hair on his his arms, the fuzz on the back of his neck, standing on end with the static in the air so thick he was afraid to touch anything in fear of being shocked. He could hear murmured curses from beside him, but his eyes were trained on Lunafreya and he couldn't focus on anything but her.

Her hand gripped her trident so tightly her knuckles flushed white, and there was a tremor in her limbs. He could see she too had some of the fine hair on her head standing on end in places where short or broken strands were, and she adjusted her stance with a slight sway. She called to him again, and another crack of thunder accompanied more lightning streaking across the sky. Another sound echoed this crack, and when he opened his eyes to recover from the latest flash he saw Lunafreya on the ground, back arched and limbs reaching out as she convulsed on the ground. Gentiana knelt beside her, having run up to her after the last flash. She was whispering quickly to her, though her words were drowned out by a deep throbbing hum that punctured the air. Lunafreya came to a rest, save for an occasional twitch, her mouth working quickly making sounds that could not be made into recognizable speech.

"Luna…" Noctis gasped, fists balled, staring at her and fighting with every instinct he had to run towards her. Was this the cost of waking an Astral? How the hell was he supposed to watch her endure this five more times? How was she expected to _endure_ this five more times? He cursed, blinking hard to try and chase away the tears that burned his eyes. Nails dug into his palms, hands trembling as the muscles stood out on his arms, and he felt Gladiolus grip his shoulder,

"Keep it together man… you gave her your word."

"Yeah." He snapped, flexing his fingers by his side. He looked up at the roiling clouds and cursed under his breathing, and began to pray that Ramuh would _just wake up already_ , shifting his weight between his legs and fighting the urge to begin cursing aloud at the sky. Lunafreya's wide eyes stared up into the clouds, and the sight of her tense muscles caused him to bite down on his tongue. After another minute her form finally stilled. Her head rested in Gentiana's lap, the raven haired woman gently stroking her hair before looking up at Noctis and smiled. "Is she okay?" Noctis asked, taking a hesitant step forward unsure if the God had been awoken.

Gentiana nodded and he rushed forward, tripping over his own steps in his haste and slid into the grass, crawling the last half-meter to Lunafreya's side. He leaned over, pressing a hand against her cheek. Her chest rose and fell in slow breaths, eyes closed, and skin somehow paler than her norm. Her lips were moving, though no discernable sound came out. He whispered her name, echoing again in a louder voice hoping she would sit back up and tell him she was a bit tired but okay, using her usual flowery language.

"The Oracle lays the path for her Prince to walk. The Fulgurian again walks this plane without dream-filled eyes. Chase this storm, and Ramuh shall bestow his task upon you." Noctis could hear his friends finally approaching, Crowe's voice calling _how's Sparkles?_ but his attention was still focused on Lunafreya, and he forced himself to look up at the clouds and see what Gentiana meant about chase the storm. Further in the distance he could see lightning strike, echoed by the slightest delay by thunder. Another bolt repeated shortly after, and he decided to trust his gut.

"We gotta go where that lightning is so Luna didn't go through this for nothing." Noctis stated, finally turning to look up at his friends. Gladiolus appeared as if he was smelling something foul, Ignis had his arms crossed before his chest, and head tilted down, glasses partially obscuring his expression. Prompto was fidgeting in place, and repated Crowe's queary about the Oracle's state. "I think she'll be okay. If they wanted her to wake all Six why would the first one put her out of commission?" he answered, trying a jovial tone but instead found his voice wavering. Gladiolus cursed, shaking his head and tapping his fist against his thigh, offering to carry her back to the car.

"I can do it." Noctis replied, but felt his friend grip his shoulder.

"You need your strength for the covenant. I promise I won't drop her." He managed to grin down at Noctis and gave him a wink, the Prince hesitating for a moment before giving a slight smile and nodding. His palm remained against Lunafreya's cheek for an extra moment before he stood, letting Gladiolus bend down and pick her up. For a moment Noctis almost expected him to throw her over his shoulder like he would have done to him, or tucked under his arm like he had seen him carry Iris around too many times to count. But rather, he proved to be capable of being gentle and led the group back towards the car. Noctis took a few steps before he felt a small cool hand against his shoulder, causing chills to shoot down his arm and he flinched with surprise.

"I wish to join you, to watch over the Oracle." Gentiana whispered. Noctis's brows lifted, and he looked over towards Gladiolus's retreating form for a moment and turned back to Gentiana.

"Oh. Uh, yeah. Though it'll get pretty cramped in the car. We're full up as it is." He answered, not wanting to tell the Messenger _no_ and wondering if Ramuh would strike him down for even posing a doubt.

"If Crowe can handle that bike with a passenger I can ride with her." Prompto offered.  
make things a little less uncomfortable"

"You know how to ride bitch?" Crowe asked, to which Prompto nodded and explained he rode on the back of a bike before and managed not to kill the driver by being an idiot. She waved at him in a _come on_ gesture. They all walked back to the car, Noctis sliding into the back first so they could slip Lunafreya's unconscious form in the middle seat, sliding hid arm around her to hold her against him and Gentiana climbed in the other side,

"I cannot recall had I ever ridden in such a device before." She marveled.

"Please mind your head, I do fear that these clouds shall open into a deluge at any moment." Ignis advised, and Gentiana smiled with a quirked brow as she watched the top come back over the Regalia and click into the place while the initial roar of the engine quieted down after a few seconds of being on. Gladiolus sat in the passenger seat and pulled the door shut hard enough to leave both Ignis and Noctis groaning in disapproval. "Gladio…"

"Yeah yeah. I shut the door too hard. Sorry, force of habit." He answered, grimacing at himself feeling bad about possibly harming the old car. Behind them Prompto was climbing onto the motorcycle behind Crowe, sitting up strait and placing his hands on her hips. She mouthed something to him and he leaned forward a bit more and wrapped his arms around her waist and Noctis smirked, taking a picture through the Regalia's rear window and promising himself to harass Prompto later.

"So, Noct. Where exactly am I taking us?" Ignis asked, drawing his attention back to his task and his smile dropped. He looked out the windows and gave Ignis a monosyllabic sound to mean _wait_ as he looked for the lightning strikes. It only took him a few more seconds to see a flash and a crack and the Regalia pulled back onto the road to follow the storm.

Lunafreya was still unconscious when they pulled over to the side of the road. The rain began after they had driven only a few hundred meters, Ignis commenting on the timing, and after a kilometer the rain grew too heavy for him to feel safe driving. The man felt immediately foolish for suggesting waiting the storm out until Noctis pointed out this was not simple weather, and he needed to chase Ramuh's lightning.

"I assure you, the Oracle shall remain safe" Gentiana soothed him when Noctis lamented leaving Lunafreya behind in the Regalia, but carrying her unconscious form through the rain was impractical and cruel. He nodded to the messenger and thanked her, stepping out into the rain. The cold water clashed spectacularly with the hot humid Duscae air. Crowe agreed to stay behind with Gentiana to keep watch over Lunafreya and the Regalis. Noctis blinked through the water sliding down his face, wiping the back of his hand over his eyes and tried to regain his bearings to walk towards the lightning strikes.

"Awe man, my perfect hair." Prompto pouted,

"Are you sure the Princess is the one in the car?" Gladiolus quipped, and got a rude hand gesture for his trouble. Ignis and Noctis chuckled, voicing their agreements with Gladiolus statement earning them each their own middle-finger in turn.

"Oh come on you take even longer on your hair than I do!" Prompto shouted defensively towards Noctis, trotting to make pace beside him. "The day we were leaving to meet your Lady Lunafreya you must have been in that bathroom for an hour trying to nail that perfect Emo look you have going." He shoved his elbow in Noctis's rib.

"The rain does suck." Noctis admitted, squinting up at the sky, too dark to see details and wished they had some damned flashlights. Ramuh truly wanted to test him it seemed. What would he do to him once he reached where the storm was striking the ground? Would he be left convulsing on the ground as Lunafreya had?

"How can you tell where we're going?" Gladiolus asked, shouting over the increasing deluge.

"Follow the lightning."

"We're gonna break a leg on this mud!" Prompto called out. But something was guiding Noctis. He could vaguely see the ground where he was placing his feet, and the lightning striking in the distance. He was sure Ramuh wasn't lighting the way for him, why would the God let him cheat his own test? He began to shiver within the minute, his friends in a similar state. Their clothes clung to them uncomfortably, Gladiolus complaining about the chaffing that was inevitable. The two kilometer walk to where Ramuh was calling to Noctis felt arduous.

"Do I have to train your asses again?" Gladiolus shouted at the other three who were panting for breath. Noctis and Prompto sat down, too soaked to care about adding a bit of mud to their discomfort, Ignis remaining standing refusing to join them, simply doubling over. The simple walk had felt like a half-marathon run but it took little time to be put back on track. Sound cracked across the sky to accompany the painfully bright flash of light. Noctis covered his ears, hearing a deep low voice within the thunder, and looked up to where the lightning had struck. A rock was glowing in the same violet hue as the lightning, a blazing rune etched into the stone in a symbol unfamiliar to Noctis and he could only imagine the lecture both Ignis and Lunafreya would have for him if he came to them and admitted that fact.

"I think I need to touch that rock." Noctis stated.

"The rock. Glowing with the Emblem of Ramuh, being struck by lightning. What the hell would _ever_ give you the idea that it was important?" Gladiolus chided, Prompto laughing and wishing he could pull out his camera to take a picture of the strange sight. Noctis rolled his eyes at his shield, wanting to get this over with so he could get back to Lunafreya, and hopefully drive to somewhere warm. Another strike of lightning, another voice hidden in the thunder beckoning him forward. He took a step, the mossy ground beneath his feet feeling slippering with the deluge of rain. His palm reached the rock, pressed against it. He had expected it to feel cold, like the rain. But instead it was hot, almost to the point of pain but he kept his hand firmly planted and winkled his nose at the discomfort. The lightning struck, and the result was instant.

Noctis's muscles all convulsed at once. His legs locked straight and he crashed to the ground several feet away. Fire roared through his limbs, his nerves ablaze and settling to an aching numbness. Nerve pathways glowed purple for the barest moment, and he came to rest, panting for breath cursing and groaning on the ground, rolling onto his side and curling on himself, groaning and gritting his teeth through the pain as it slowly faded.

"Holy shit! Noct!" Prompto reached him first, Gladiolus and Ignis not far behind. Their voices were drowned out by Ramuh, this time his words clear through the pain through the rumbles and confusion.

 _ **One of Three.**_

Noctis groaned, the throbbing behind his eyes fading with the burning in his nerves. His friend's hands were on him, and he felt a metal can being pressed into his hand. Through the fog in his mind he realized Ignis must have pressed one of the energy drinks into his grip, and he tried to remember where his magic was to turn it into the curative he needed.

"Noct, you need a potion." Ignis stated, helping him orient himself. He groaned, rolling over so he was face-down in the mud, forcing himself up onto his hands and knees but his trembling arms gave out, collapsing back down and turning his head to avoid drowning. _If the damn rain would just stop already_. He sneezed, then coughed at the mud that was kicked back up into his mouth. "Noct! You need to focus!"

"Back of man, he got struck by lightning!" Prompto's voice chided, and Ignis sighed, rubbing his face, pinching the bridge of his nose and trying to repeat the order to Noctis with a more careful tone. The Prince was able to collect his thoughts, find his magic, and pour it into the drink in his hand. The can grew warm, then cold, and after a few moments was nearly indistinguishable from the other energy drinks. Gladiolus helped him sit up, and he drank the potion, dribbling it down his chin and coughing when he swallow one long sip wrong.

"Ugh Gods…" he wheezed between coughs, the magic of the curative coursing through him and he felt half-normal again.

"So we did it? We have like, an actual God on our side?" Prompto asked, smiling and bouncing on his heels. His grin vanished when Noctis shook his head, tilting his head back to finish off the last of the drink, letting out an undignified belch and not bothering to covrer his mouth, limbs too damn tired to do so.

"I think it was Ramuh's voice. He said one of three. I think I gotta do that two more times…" his voice trailed off and he tiled his head back, looking up at the dark sky. Through the edge of his vision he saw a bright flash and turned his head, and saw a new spot where lightning was beginning to repeatedly strike.

"Explains why the rains have not let up. It appears the Gods want you to _earn_ these covenants."

"Help me up. I want this over with." Noctis grumbled.

"You need rest!" Gladiolus argued back, "Even _I_ don't want to kick your ass this hard!"

"I'm feeling better with the drink, and I'll be back to normal by the time we get to the next one." Gladiolus helped his charge stand back up, said man rolling his shoulders and leading his friends on, each of them still shivering and Ignis mumbling under his breath that they best all rest proper after this misadventure or they'd be laid up with pneumonia.

The next two stones proved no different than the first. Each time, Noctis's muscles jerked tight and he would be thrown back to the ground, twitching and with his nerves blazing with agony. The pain would fade soon enough, as would the confusion. He felt sick after the second potion, and hardly had the coherence to refuse the third. His heart was racing from the lightning strikes and the caffeine that lingered in the curatives. Gladiolus carried the semi-conscious prince to the nearest road where they all sat down, thankful that the storm clouds had parted and the sun was out, drying their soaked clothing.

"I'll call Crowe and have her come get you Ig, then you bring the Regalia here. I'm a bull but I am not carrying Noct all the way to the damn car." Gladiolus requested, laying Noctis on the grass, who had succumbed to his exhaustion. He pulled out his phone and dialed her number, "Crowe? ….. yeah….. can you come get Ignis with the bike? No way in hell we're walking back…. What? No!... I know you're her Shield but we're a little low on options….. Noct is unconscious, the covenant kicked his ass like it did the Princess's, will you please come get Ig so he can get us with the car?" He argued with her for a few moments longer, the young woman protesting leaving her charge alone with a stranger. But she was reassured that the black haired woman was one to be trusted, and relented. After he ended the call Gladioolus lamented the inability to angrily hang up on a cell phone before shoving the device in his pocket. He rubbed his face roughly, glancing over at his own charge and cursing how damned _helpless_ he felt in the face of this type of thereat. How the hell could he protect Noctis from the Gods?

"If Ramuh is supposed to be like, the _nice_ one, what are the other covenants going to be like? And how do we even know Ramuh did it?" Prompto asked, sitting cross legged and mindlessly picking at the grass, tying longer blades into knots before flicking it away and plucking at the ground again.

"Noct was muttering something about voices after the third strike. We can inquire more about it once he has rested adequately. I do believe both Noct and Lady Lunafreya have earned a proper rest, I do not feel that tents will suffice." Ignis answered. He looked down at his friend, pushing his glasses back up his nose and sighed, staring off into the distant edge of road to wait the appearance of Crowe's motorcycle. The other two voiced their wholehearted agreement, and stated they were more than willing to give up their remaining gil if it meant the pair could rest in a bed and not on the ground.

"Prompto, wanna play a round of King's Knight?" Gladiolus asked, needing something to occupy this insufferable wait on the side of the road. His friend too eager to agree, flicking away another knot of grass to pull out his phone, glad the damn thing was waterproof. Ignis declined the offer to join them, and instead pulled out his phone to read an old book on it he had already read multiple times to pass the short time until the roar of Crowe's motorcycle cut through the now quiet air. The bike came into view next, and as she pulled up to the road she kicked the stand, pulling off her helmet and looking down at them,

"Wow you weren't kiddin' there big guy. You guys look like shit."

* * *

So we finally get to the first covenant. I took a little bit of liberty with it to make it more exciting, and to make it a more important event than in the game. The Astrals felt so anticlimactic in the game that I want to give it a bit more punch so I hope no one minds I strayed a bit from canon.


	19. Downed Airship

Noctis opened his eyes, trying to blink away the blur in his eyes. His limbs ached, fingers and toes burning, his whole body feeling heavy. He groaned, trying to shift his weight to ease the ache in his lower back, old scar tissue tingling and his left leg number than the rest of him. He looked around and saw Prompto sitting in the chair in the corner of the room. The sound of movement caught his attention and the blond man leapt to his feet,

"Noct! You're awake!" he jogged up to his friend, "Whoa settle dude, you got your butt kicked only like a couple hours ago."

"Ugh… where am I?" he felt disoriented, his last memory was of fire in his veins and grass beneath his back. "Luna!" his memories became clearer, and he suddenly remembered the unconscious Oracle.

"Right next to you dude." He turned his head, his vision still partially blurred and found that Lunafreya was indeed in the bed right next to him. "And we're at Wiz's. Brought you and Luna back here once you finished with Ramuh's covenant." Prompto explained. With his vision slowly coming back into focus Noctis noticed he was in a small room, the bed he was on he realized was hardly big enough to fit both him and Lunafreya. A dresser was cross from the bed with just enough space between it and the foot of the bed to allow someone to pass through, and an armchair was pushed into the corner of the room and was close enough that Prompto could have rested his feet on the bed if he had wanted to. "I should tell the others you're up. How you feeling man?"

"Like I was trampled by a garula that lost a fight with a power line." He answered. He turned his head to Lunafreya, "she wake up at all?"

"No not yet. But Gentiana insisted she'll be okay." Noctis reached out to Lunafreya, fingertips hovering above her forehead for a moment, wondering if he would shock her with this fire in his veins. He brushed her bangs from her face, sighing a bit. "One down Luna… hope I didn't let you down." He groaned and shifted himself up into a sitting position, despite Prompto loudly protesting that he still needed more rest.

"I feel stiff… I needed to change positions." He argued back. "Those lightning strikes… everyone else okay?"

"Yeah dude. So weird, never seen lightning behave like that."

"Where is Gentiana?" Noctis asked, hoping to speak with her.

"Getting coffee with Ignis. He convinced her to take a break from sitting vigil over Lunafreya, so I took over.

"She needs coffee?" Noctis couldn't help but chuckle at the thought.

"Not really, but she was curious about it. I'm gonna let everyone know you're awake."

"No… Luna needs her rest if she's still asleep. Help me up, I'll go outside with everyone." Noctis shook his head, groaning as he tried to move to the edge of the bed. Prompto hesitated, debating protesting Noctis's decision but knew how stubborn his friend could be and agreed to help him sit up. Noctis stood, and after a half-minute felt steady enough on his feet to walk without support. Moving was helping to ease the numbness in his leg and the ache in his lower back, the burning starting to fade with activity. "And hey man listen… thanks for coming with me."

"Huh?"

"When you asked my dad to make you a Crownsguard… you were just signing up to bring me to a wedding. Not this world-saving shit. Just… thanks man. For not running off."

"You really think I'd run off man, hell no!" He punched Noctis on the arm, bouncing back to give him two thumbs up. "Crownsguard means sticking around no matter what, right? Besides, imagine the ladies I can get if I tell them these badass stories?" Noctis chuckled at Prompto's enthusiasm,

"Might actually find yourself a girlfriend."

"Hey! I've had girlfriends." Prompto protested quickly. "Just none that could handle dating the Prince's best friend!"

"Is that so?" Noctis chuckled.

"Hell yeah. Why else wouldn't they stick to this piece of awesome? Well if you feel like your not a wet noddle anymore lets go see the others, they're worried sick."

"And Luna?"

"We can ask Gentiana to watch her until she wakes back up." Prompto suggested. "If you'd rather not leave her I can just go tell the guys…"

"No… it's okay. I know they're worried." Noctis countered, though Prompto wasn't wrong. He wanted to lie in bed with her and watch over her until she woke up and he could ensure she was all right and tell her that they did it, they forged the first covenant. He wasn't sure how to describe it, but he could feel the power within him like when he tried to call a royal arm. His unconsciousness had been filled with odd dreams filled with imagery of storms, though he could make little sense of the pictures Ramuh was sending him.

"Can you walk?" Noctis nodded his head, and walked the three paces to the door and walked out into a small hallway. Prompto waved his hand and guided Noctis through the narrow hallway and into a common room where customer's of Wiz's Chocobo Post could rest indoors.

"Hey guys." He called, surprised his voice sounded so gravelly now that he was shouting into a room. His voice felt scratchy, and he wished he had some water.

"Noct!" Ignis shouted, standing to his feet,

"There he is!" Gladiolus barked, slapping his thigh and getting up as well. Gentiana was still sitting in an old chair, a plain white mug in her hands, and Crowe leaned back, also cheering Noctis's appearance.

"Sorry to scare you all." He commented, rubbing at his neck.

"I don't scare so easily. I'd go to hell just to drag you back and kick your ass for making me fail at my job." Gladiolus laughed, walking up to Noctis and startling him by pulling him into a bear hug, slapping his back hard before pulling back sharply. "How's our other badass doing?" he asked.

"Still asleep. I was actually going to ask Gentiana if she wouldn't mind watching over her until she wakes up." The aforementioned woman stood, nodding at Noctis and carrying her mug with her as she approached.

"I see the King's concern for the Oracle in his eyes. I shall watch over her in his stead." Noctis wanted to ask if she would be all right, and if he had made this covenant with Ramuh like he was supposed to. But he sensed that if there was something left in his task with Ramuh the messenger would have told him, and instead simply nodded at Gentiana.

"Enjoy your coffee." He remarked, nodding down at the mug in her hand. Gentiana peered at it, then back at Noctis before giving him a smile and vanishing through the door to the hallway.

"How do you feel Noct?" Ignis asked, and Noctis shrugged,

"A little better moving around." He answered.

"Come sit down, you should have something to eat and drink after everything you've endured."

"Can't argue with that." Noctis answered. With the pain and discomfort fading hunger settled its way into his stomach, and the smell of food filling this central room was too tempting to pass up. "Though I need some fresh air, lets eat outside." Everyone took turns congratulating Noctis on successfully forging a covenant with an Astral, reassuring him that Lunafreya would surely be fine, heading outside to sit at the tables for some food.

"So what's it like being B-F-Fs with a God?" Prompto asked.

"I don't really feel very different yet." He explained. "Besides wishing I could crawl back into bed for the next month."

"You always feel like that" Gladiolus quipped back.

"Yeah yeah." Noctis rolled his eyes.

"Well look who's up!" Wiz's voice called, jarring the Prince. "How ya feelin? You looked a right mess when they dragged you back here, the Oracle too." He added. "How is she farin?"

"Sleeping, but she'll be okay. Thanks for letting us rest here." Noctis answered her. "We really appreciate it."

"Anythin for our Prince." Wiz answered. Noctis nodded with a small smile, glad that they were given a bed to recuperate on rather than atop a sleeping bag in a tent. Wiz provided them another meal, once again refusing any offers of payment.

"There's gotta be something we can do for him." Noctis lamented as he took his first bite of food, realizing just how damn hungry he was and quickly taking a second bite.

"Well I was asking him about the chocobos earlier and he mentioned something was spooking all the birds but was too dangerous for him to handle, even some of the hunters won't take the job." Prompto explained. Noctis wondered if they could handle a beast even other hunters were turning their nose up at.

"Oh yeah, I saw a bounty on the poster when we first got here, Deadeye. Looks like a behemoth." Gladiolus explained. Crowe let out a long whistle, shaking her head.

"A _behemoth_? I don't want to mess with that shit!" Crowe responded.

"Can't hurt to ask about it." Prompto suggested. "Think of the chocobos!"

"We do owe Wiz, for free meals, and letting me and Luna rest here… he's been really generous. And was always good to me as a kid. It's the least we could do." Noctis answered back, though he shared Crowe's doubts.

"If we can handle all these daemons we can handle a behemoth." Gladiolus argued. "I'm gonna go ask. I agree with Noct, we owe Wiz." The large man stood up quickly, ordering Prompto to keep their Prince safe for thirty seconds while we went off to speak to Wiz. It didn't take long for him to gather the information he wanted and returned to the table.

"What's the verdict?" Noctis asked.

"Well it's apparently a very old behemoth, and blind in one eye. I think this gives us a hell of a shot. I say we go scout out its lair, and come up with a gameplan. You feeling up for that Noct? We can spend a bit more time resting if you need."

"Give me a couple hours and ask me again." Noctis admitted. He wanted to rush off to handle this problem for Wiz. But knew how damned _stupid_ that impulse decision would be.

"Should also wait for our Lady to wake up. I do feel that a battle against a behemoth may carry less risk should we have our white mage available." Ignis suggested. Noctis wrinkled his nose at the suggestion, not liking the idea of bringing Lunafreya onto the battlefield in any state, let alone if her ass had been kicked by this covenant as hard as his own. Her prolonged slumber hinted at her having an even worse time of it than him.

"Let's see how she feels when she wakes up first." He had suppressed his original thought to suggest she stay behind and they merely stock up on some energy drinks he could convert to necessary curatives. "She should get to make that choice for herself." Ignis praised his discretion, Gladiolus _hmmph_ ing, his personal preference on the matter clear.

It was dark when Lunafreya stirred from her slumber. Noctis had peeked into the room multiple times to check on her, getting various reassurances from Gentiana all the while. After several hours he had settled into the chair in the corner of the room, occupying himself with his phone. Gentiana had been sitting vigil on the side of the bed Noctis had previously slept on.

"Luna?" he called over when she began to stir, shifting from her back onto her side with a moan.

"Mmm… Noct?" It had taken several more seconds and her name being repeated for her to respond to him, eyes opening and squinting as they tried to focus.

"I'm right here." He got up, stepping towards the bed and dropping to his knees to be at her level.

"My lady awakens." Gentiana smiled, reaching down to pet Lunafreya's hair.

"Gentiana?" she inquired, eyes flicking about. She groaned, wincing slightly at the throb in her joints. "Where am I?" she inquired, noticing the unfamiliar surroundings with a jolt that sent her heart racing.

"You're safe." Noctis answered her quickly, placing a palm against her cheek to try and keep her focus on him. "You're at Wiz's. After Ramuh the guys took us here. Gentiana's been watching you ever since you woke him." He explained. Lunafreya tilted her head slightly towards the warm palm on her cheek, letting out a low sigh as she tried to regain control of herself.

"The Lady has done well, Ramuh no longer slumbers and stands by her King."

"The covenant?" Lunafreya asked.

"Yeah. You did it… you woke his butt up and I was able to make the covenant. One down." He smiled. Her vision was refocusing, and her mouth pulled back in a smile of her own.

"I suppose this isn't exactly what you had in mind when we were children and talking about saving the world." She couldn't help her sad chuckle.

"Yeah… but we're in it together, right?"

"Together. How are you feeling Noct? I fear I cannot recall anything after speaking with Ramuh and pleading for him to stand with you." She inquired, expression scrunching in thought.

"You've been out like a light since then. Man, you call _me_ sleepy!" he teased. She tried to laugh, but stopped and wrapped an arm around her chest with a wince. "Hey… I know my jokes are bad, but they aren't _that_ bad." He frowned.

"I'll be all right with time. But you never answered me. How are _you_ Noct?" She wished she could have watched him forge the covenant, stood beside him to offer him her light as he took the toll of it. But her own toll had been far greater than she had expected, and fear found its way into her heart as she thought about what still lay ahead of them.

"A lot better now. Felt pretty bad when I first woke up but fresh air and a meal made me feel a lot better. Will make you feel better too I think, once you feel up for moving." She shifted again, wincing as she moved herself into a sitting position and rested her back against the headrest. She turned to see Gentiana still sitting peacefully beside her, where she had been keeping vigil for many hours. The women exchanged smiles and nods, Lunafreya thanking her.

"Go forth, a long path awaits you." She stood, bowing her head once more before parting from the room.

"I should get up, to eat, as you suggested." Lunafreya stated once alone in the room with Nocits. "But first… _my_ toll." She flushed a bit with her words, and reached out to touch Noctis's cheek. He followed her light tug and greeted her in a kiss, Despite the light touches already exchanged he almost expected a shock just before their lips met, sighing against her mouth. Once parted, he rested his forehead against hers, letting silence hang between them for several moments.

"Yeah… like Gentiana said we have a long road. Don't want to do it on an empty stomach." He stood, holding out to help Lunafreya stand. She was unsteady on her feet for several moments, pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead to wait out a pass of lighthedeness, trying not to sway and worry Noctis any further. "How's your ribs? You seemed sore."

"Everything is sore." She admitted.

"I was too at first. Thought it would last a while but once I walked around and ate I almost felt normal again."

"I can use my light-" she lifted her hands, but Noctis was quick to grab her wrists, gently lowering her hands and shook his head.

"You need your strength. Come on, you seemed to like that chocobo burger earlier, what do you say to another one?" She nodded, letting him guide her from the room and outside where everyone was waiting.

"Hey Sparkles! Welcome back!" Crowe was the first to greet her, sticking her thumb in the air. The others were quick to greet her, and she couldn't help the flush that overtook her cheeks at the attention. Crowe pat at the seat beside her, "You still look half-dead like the Prince did earlier. Sit your pretty ass down." After a moment's hesitation, "Uh, M'lady" she added quickly.

"Please, no formalities." She wrinkled her nose at the title and Crowe chuckled, nodding and patting at the seat again. She followed the gesture, sitting down beside her Shield, Noctis sitting down beside her. She answered the round of _how you holding up_ s with nods and reassurances that she was quite all right. Wiz echoed all their concerns, promising to be quick when Noctis asked him to prepare a chocobo burger for her. Lunafreya appeared ready to protest when told to put her money away,

"We're paying him back for all his kindness don't worry Luna." Noctis reassured her. He brought her up to speed about Deadeye. Gladiolus and Prompto had asked around while he had watched over sleeping form, Crowe taking her bike to a nearby hunter spot to gather some information from them. Together they were able to paint a clearer picture of what was plaguing the post. Hunters had been paid to take down the beast, one party blinding it but losing some of their own in the process. "They told us there's some old fuel barrels down there. If we gather some fire…" Noctis suggested, lifting his palm and flexing his fingers.

"If it will help the people of this area and repay the kindness of Wiz I fully support this endeavor." Lunafreya responded when Noctis had finished.

"Hah! That's the spirit!" Crowe laughed.

"Are you feeling up to this task?" Ignis asked.

"As Noctis had suggested, I feel quite a bit better with fresh air and a meal. Though I would advise against this particular action so soon… perhaps after another night of rest. For us all."

"Can't really argue with that."

Wiz was happy to allow the Lucian retinue one more night, giving the royal pair the spare bedroom the others insisting Wiz sleep in his own bed tonight and they were all comfortable sleeping in their tents. Noctis and Lunafreya's concerns about taking the only bed while the others slept on the ground was met with the insistence that they needed the better rest than any of them. Come morning the royal pair woke nearly simultaneously, unsure which had woken the other with the creaking of old bedsprings.

"Good morning…" Lunafreya whispered, getting a mumble in reply. She chuckled, reaching out to brush some hair from Noctis's face. Without his hair styled back it fell messily around his face, and she found herself wishing for Prompto's camera to capture this moment. Most of the ache had left her body, though a lingering tingle remained in her fingertips. She found herself longing for more sleep, but knew it was prudent to get up from the bed. She looked around for a clock to determine the time, only finding one who's battery had long run out with the hands stuck at reding twenty-two past seven.

Noctis hand blindly slapped around the small table that was wedged between the bed and the wall with hardly a finger width of space between it and the wall. He jerked his phone towards himself clumsily, tapping a button on the side and wincing at how bright the screen appeared, focusing his eyes on the time reading that it was nearly eleven.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed, sitting up straight. He pulled up his messages, expecting to find a plethora of missed texts from Ignis, and checked the service when he had none.

"Easy now." Lunafreya chuckled at how quickly he moved. "I've never seen you move so fast in the morning before. What's the time?" she gasped when he told her, and she tried to recall a time she had ever slept past seven, let alone nearly noon. "I suppose we truly did need another night's rest!"

"Yeah… you weren't kidding. We should get outside. And prepare for a _lot_ of teasing." He sighed. "It's too bad we couldn't take advantage of being in a bed," he chuckled, giving her a suggestive smile, reaching across the space between them to brush his fingers along the side of her neck. She hummed, tilting her head and sighing when his fingers traced along the skin she was bearing to him.

"Do not put such thoughts in my mind when we are lying in someone else's bed." She answered, but made no move to stop his hands. Noctis chuckled at her response, and she could hear the sheets rustling as he shifted closer to her and his lips connecting to where the ghost of his touch still tingled. "Not… fair…" she mumbled.

"Yeah… really not fair that this isn't your bed…" he answered. His free hand rested against her waist, tugging her closer to him, lips finding a new spot on her neck to make her sigh, wishing he could leave a mark on her flawless skin, or that she could return the favor. "But we can still enjoy a few more minutes…"

"A Princess should not behave as such."

"Guess it's up to her Prince then to be all misbehaved. You just relax and let me do the work." She flushed, her mind drifting to impure thoughts and the things she wished he would do with his fingers and tongue, cursing the fact she could not enjoy him so. She pulled back, answering his whine with a kiss, needing to cease his attentions against her neck to keep herself from caving to impulse.

"You are quite misbehaved this morning. I suppose this is a sign you are feeling a bit better than last night?"

"Much… you seem to feel better too." He pulled back from the kiss, her hands resting on his chest and he took her hint, sitting back against the headboard.

"I do feel better than last night." She reassured him. "We should dress." She suggested, if only to give herself a task to try and realign her mind away from Noctis. Though this proved an ineffective method once he was standing nude, save for boxers. She bit her lower lip, caving to her impulses and shifted over to the edge of the bed, standing up behind him and wrapping her arms around him, resting her head against his back.

"I thought you wanted to get dressed?"

"I can hug you." She countered.

"Hard to get dressed this way." He laughed. His hands came down to cover hers, closing his eyes to relish in her touch.

"Hmm…" she sighed, and pulled back. "I suppose you're right." While she wanted to enjoy more time alone with him, she got dressed herself, packing her sleep clothes in her bag while Noctis did the same. They emerged outside expecting teasing from the others in the group, and were surprised when instead they merely inquired about how they were feeling.

"Did I look that shitty last night?" Noctis asked, giving Lunafreya a concerned look who merely shrugged in reply. Gladiolus laughed, insisting he always looked like shit, to which Ignis replied he would never allow that, being his advisor. He gave rude hand gestures to his friends, sharing a laugh with them.

When he was told they were going to try and take down Deadeye for him, Wiz first tried to talk them all out of it. Once he realized that there was no stopping them, he insisted that they allow him to feed them one more time to give them the energy they needed to take the behemoth on. After promising to turn back should they find the fight out of their league.

"So to review one final time, we will collect some magic for Noctis, so he can ignite the fuel barrels around Deadeye's lair, hopefully injuring it enough for us to defeat it." Ignis stated. Everyone around him concurred with this idea, and the plan to further refine their strategy once they were in the den and had an idea of what everything looked like. "So where do we collect this magic?"

"The crystals tend to grow around havens… I think the magic in the havens makes them grow better or something." Noctis answered. "That's where my dad always took me as a kid to practice." _Before the wall went up_. He thought to himself. There were magical canisters stashed in the underground storage of the Citadel that Regis had used to help his son practice, but Noctis still felt unsure of his ability to use his elemancy under such pressure. He felt a palm against his forearm and looked to his right, seeing Lunafreye smile at him and give a light squeeze. He reached over to place a palm over her hand for a moment before they both drew their hands back into their laps.

"We should get going then. Ignis you pack any vials?"

"Your father made sure of it… it case of emergencies, he stated, and thus there are two back at the Regalia."

"Guess we should head back to the car once we eat." The others concurred, eating their breakfast and double-checking they had their belongings before heading to the car. Prompto hung back for a moment, walking up to the chocobo paddock,

"Hey guys, we'll kick this behmoth's butt for ya!" He reached out to pet the nearest bird, it letting out a happy _kweh!_ before rubbing its head to try and garner more attention from Prompto.

"Hey bird-brain you coming or we leaving you behind?" Gladiolus called, trailing behind the others.

"Be back soon!" Prompto gave the bird one final pet before jogging to catch up to Gladiolus, staggering to keep his balance when the man threw a bag at his chest. He caught it, calling his friend an ass and slung the bag over his shoulder. "So time to dope Noct up on some magic so we can kick some behemoth ass?" Prompto asked, looking at his friend walking next to Lunafreya several meters ahead of him and Gladiolus. He couldn't help but notice the limp the Prince's step, frowning slightly and wanting to suggest postponing this adventure by another day.

"Sounds like."

"Time to go relax and make Noct do all the work before we kick some butt!"

"Hell yeah!" Gladiolus laughed, giving Prompto a light punch on the arm. "Come on let's go watch his royal highness bust his ass collecting magic while we all enjoy the scenery." They finished the walk to the car, packing their belongings into the trunk with a comment from Prompto about how the hell the roof of the car and all their belongings managed to fit in the space, which led to a debate between Gladiolus and Prompto about whether or not the car had a magic pocket like Noctis, Ignis groaning as he struggled not to point out the logic in their illogical debate.

"So you think the car can also collect magic and dish it out?"

"Maybe that's why the car overheated! Collected to much fire magic!"

"You'll survive this Iggy." Noctis patted his back, "You've done it for years."

"And each has their limits." He replied, stepping into the driver's seat and pulling the door shut. Gladiolus rounded the car to sit on the passenger side, Lunafreya sandwiching herself once again between Noctis and Prompto reassuring them she was quite all right with her designated seat. The roar of Crowe's motorcycle drowned out the quieter hum of the Regalia, and the retinue pulled out of the post and onto the road to drive towards the nearest havens.

"I see the runes up ahead," Gladiolus pointed through the windshield,

"You should see crystals nearby. It's like the ancient magic of the runes encouraged the crystals to grow."

"Gonna have to walk over there. You really think this low ride can handle off-roading?" Gladiolus asked.

"I think Cid just woke from a deep slumber with the urge to slap you with all his might, so slapped your dad for good measure." Prompto reached over Lunafreya's lap to shove Noctis.

"Why me?! I never said to take the Regalia over there!"

"The thought existed so therefore Cid will want to slap you." Prompto assured. "Come on you lazy bums!" Prompto opened the door once the Regalia pulled to a stop, nearly leaping out of the car.

"Wait until I at least set the car into park and pull my foot from the brake!" Ignis started to shout after him, but Prompto had already shut the door and pulled out his camera to take photos of the landscape.

"If only he could gift us just a touch of that energy. I feel as if I never slept last night." Lunafreya commented quietly to Noctis, getting a chuckle from him before he stepped out of the car and helped her stand from the low vehicle.

"Maybe collecting a little lightning will zap me awake?"

"Was… was that a pun?" Lunafreya lifted a brow at him.

"Sounded like. And a terrible one. I'll slap him for you." Gladiolus answered, stepping towards Noctis and swiping to slap the back of his head, the Prince dodging poorly leaving him with a pink ear.

"Hey!" he snapped back. "It was unintentional!" The words had hardly left his mouth when he felt Lunafreya's hands on him, her light pouring into him and soothing the sting of his ear. He opened his mouth to tell her to stop that she didn't need to tax herself over a slapped ear but the light had already faded as did the sting from the slap. "Uh, thanks. But he didn't hit me _that_ hard."

"Your ear was pink." She counted quickly, cheeks flushing before she turned away from him. "Let's look for those crystals." She deflected.

"Uh, yeah." He agreed, and jogged the couple steps to catch up beside her. Once they were halfway towards the haven Ignis found the first crystal, the group all converging on it. "Fire." He commented.

"Figured it was glowing red because it was ice. Huh. Guess that's why you're the black mage of the party, huh?"

"Oh shut up." Noctis quipped. He put his hand out to the crystal, calling on the same thing he did when he tried to call a royal arm from a tomb, remembering lessons with his father as a child. The magic filled him, and he asked Ignis for one of the phials they had brought with them. Like with the royal arms his friends stood around him, fascinated by the display, and try to pry from him how the magic worked but he didn't have any answers that could slake their curiosity.

"Just one of those freaky things from the crystal?" Prompto asked, when his _how do you do it_ was answered with vague answers about just reaching out and pulling.

"I guess. My dad never really explained it to me."

"So how much of this do we need to kick Deadeye's ass?"

"We only have three phials so… three phials." Noctis answered.

"Can you hold in the fire like, without putting it into a phial?"

"I can hold it but I can't control it really well. Like… if I don't shove it into these phials its about as well controlled as a forest fire when I let it loose. Learned that the hard way with some ice magic as a kid. Froze half the garden, and almost lost the tips of some fingers to frostbite. I wear my dad still has scars on his ears from the frostbite himself" he explained.

"So suck up this crystal then on to Deadeye, then some chocobos!" Prompto declared.

"I'll have to race you, see who got rustier after all this time."

"Hell yeah! I'll totally win, I'm like. One with the birds in spirit. So can you get all three phials here?" Noctis shook his head, stating one crystal would not fill three phials. He drained the magic that he could, the red glow of the crystal formation fading and he gestured for them to return to the Regalia. With a declaration of _onward_ they pulled off the shoulder and back onto the road.

A half-dozen kilometers down the road they took a turn, Ignis quirking his head, asking if anyone else in the car could see the large square mass surrounded by smoldering trees along the edge of where the forest had begun to thin out.

"Yeah… wonder what it is." Gladiolus remarked. "Get closer."

"Need I remind you, once again that this car is not meant for such off-road adventuring? I do hope you are in the mood for a pleasant stroll should you want to investigate what that is." Ignis answered. They traveled down the road a bit further when Crowe pulled up beside the Regalia and began gesturing for them to pull over. Ignis guided the car over to the shoulder, taking note before turning off the engine that they were down to a quarter tank of fuel. Crowe was parked beside them, setting her helmet on the ground beside the bike to walk up to the passenger side window.

"Guys, that's an Imperial airship." Crowe stated through the window. "If they figure out where we are, we're in a world of hurt." She added quickly.

"How do you know that?" Gladiolus asked.

"She's right." Lunafreya confirmed, voice monotonous. "That is an Imperial airship landed by the trees."

"I don't think this was some calm landing." Gladiolus answered. "I think it dropped out of the sky."

"If it's disabled maybe we can just avoid it and sneak under their radar. This car doesn't really scream _subtle_." Crowe quipped back, drumming her fingers on the car's roof.

"If we can see them maybe they can already see us, we should go over there and just blow the thing up. If they have like, GPS and shit on that ship maybe more airships will come for their downed comrade." Gladiolus wondered.

"Wouldn't mind a little good old fashioned revenge. For everything. Insomnia, my dad, Altissia…." Gladiolus listed, balling his fist. Ignis winced at this train of thinking, his own mind thinking of everything he wanted to balance the scales for, Noctis was beginning to tap the side of the car with his own fist and Lunafreya fidgeted from beside him. A long silence hung in the air,

"We could get important information from that airship. Perhaps any information they have on Noctis or Lady Lunafreya. Or maybe they have something about the state of Insomnia, or Accordio." Ignis suggested, wanting to latch onto something other than pure blind revenge. He flicked his eyes up, and watched the way Noctis's brows were furrowed, his leg bouncing. _Have any of us taken the damn time to process any of this?_ He wondered.

"I say we do it." Noctis added, slamming his fist against the top of the rear door. "Revenge, information, who cares. Go tear the thing apart of anything useful then blow it to hell. Wouldn't mind caving in the heads of some MTs while we're at it." His voice shook with his declaration. Lunafreya placed her hand on his shoulder, hoping to steady the tremor in his arm and his voice. He looked at her, noticing the dilation in her eyes, and the rigid way she was holding her shoulders. "We can pay them back. Sure it probably won't make a damned dent in the Empire's end-game, but if we can do _something._ Show the people of Lucis their leaders are going to kick their asses right back get some payback for Insomnia… Altissia, every time they-they hurt-"

"I concur with Ignis, that we may gleam important information from that ship." Lunafreya stated, interrupting Noctis as he began to speak faster and louder, tripping over his words.

"Uh so the people who just kicked our butts we're just gonna walk up to that airship? Shouldn't we like… make a plan?" Prompto asked.

"I concur with Prompto… perhaps some forethought would be prudent." Ignis added.

"If that thing was filled with MTs or soldiers they'd be pacing all over the place. Either everything inside the ship was killed… do MTs die or do they just break? Or it had just one idiot pilot who forgot which way was up. Let's go get this taken care of, we've only got like, four hours of light left and I'm still a _bit_ tired from getting my ass kicked by the _last_ set of daemons we faced." Crowe rambled before stalking off towards the ship. The others posted protests for several seconds.

"I'll carry your skinny ass back to the car if you don't turn it around." Gladiolus barked.

"Big guy, you forget I make bombs with my hands?" she spun around, summoning flame in her palm and holding it. He halted in his steps, holding up his palms and barked a laugh,

"Point made. Fine, we go storming in there like a bunch of idiots then what? That thing could be filled with MTs!" He pointed at the ship.

"I don't think so. Been to Accordio and Tenebrae a few times, never was dumb enough to wander closer to Nifleheim but those fuckers wouldn't just sit still in there. It's like they're programmed to be restless as well as stupid." She explained. Lunafreya let herself fall a few paces behind the others, remembering the MagiTek soldiers pacing the hallways of the Manor, and the grounds outside. They would stand guard outside her door when ordered and escort her anytime she left her room. She halted, swearing she could smell their exhaust and tried to take a moment to squint away the memories.

Noctis turned, noticing Lunafreya had halted her pace while Gladiolus and Crowe were busy arguing the merits of her plan to simply barge up to the ship. Ignis was attempting to interject into the conversation but found the pair too damned stubborn to just shut up, and Prompto was uncomfortably quiet.

"Luna?"

"Hmm?" She hummed in answer, flicking her eyes back up to him.

"Hey… would be you be more comfortable waiting back at the car?" he asked, closing the distance between them and resisted the instinct to pull his hand away when he felt her flinch to his touch.

"There may be injured in that ship and I do not wish for our supply of curatives to be exhausted. I can offer my light, so I am more useful _with_ you than standing idly by the car because of my own pettiness." She answered him. She lifted a hand to his cheek, forcing a smile. "Come now, we are falling behind and it seems that Crowe is quite determined to simply open the doors to that ship, we may be needed." Noctis hesitated but nodded, suppressing the dozen protests that were rising in his mind.

It was a ten-minute walk to close the distance to the fallen ship, and no sign of detection was made. No soldiers came from the door, no shots from the canons on the ship or any sound come from it. They had been able to smell the burning trees, oils, and metal from the side of the road but as they approached it was nearly overwhelming. Lunafreya tried to steel herself from any sights they may see when they opened the door, remembering the charred bodies from the Tenebraen village razed by daemonic bombs.

"Maybe no one's home." Crowe quipped. The airship was far larger than they first thought, "Imagine flyin' 'round in this thing? We'd have all those royal arms and Astrals in a day!" she laughed.

"Shh… they'll hear you. Shouldn't we like, sneak?" Prompto asked.

"What's the fuckin' point by now? They would have seen us coming and already blown us up into little pink clouds with a few red and black chunks scattered around by now if they were a threat."

"And you were okay with becoming a pink cloud enough to just barge down here?" Prompto asked.

"He's got a point." Gladiolus added when the woman groaned and rolled her eyes.

"I concur." Ignis added

"Can't you guys be more like Emo Prince and Sparkles, all nice 'n quiet?" she asked. "Guess you haven't run into enough airships yet to know they can see you from miles away. They would have seen us before we saw them. How many times do I gotta say it?!"

"Doesn't mean marching up to one of these things won't make me nervous." Gladiolus answered back. Ignis mumbled something about _it could be a trap_ keeping the comment mostly to himself knowing the woman wasn't likely to suddenly come to her senses and listen.

"Well put on your big-girl panties." Crowe quipped back. She looked up at the ship and began to pace. "How to get in… I mean, I could just bomb it open but that could damage any information we need." She mused.

"As well as any injured." Lunafreya added softly and flushed with regret as all eyes turned to her. "If information is something you wish to gleam, murdering the injured is not the prudent path." She clarified. Crowe shrugged,

"Got a point." She resumed her pacing and realized what she thought was merely a grove in the metal was the seam for a large door spanning the height of the airship . The keypad beside it was dim, and when she tapped at it no light or sound indicated if the device was working. "the Empire does love their obnoxious lights ,so pretty sure this shit is broken if it ain't glowin like a kid's toy" she commented.

"Nothing on the other side." Ignis announced as he came back around with Prompto at his side. Gladiolus also reported not finding anything on his walk around the ship. Noctis stood beside Lunafreya who couldn't seem to stand still and began to walk the length of the ship her eyes scanning it though he couldn't tell if she was even taking in information. He felt a buzz from his pocket and ignored it, trying to keep pace with the restless Oracle while finding a way inside this ship.

"I think I see something." Prompto remarked, standing near Crowe. "It's got a keypad but I think this thing is hydraulic." He pointed to some piping running along the top edge of the ship.

"What kind of idiot makes a ship with hydraulics that have exposed pipes?" Gladiolus asked.

"The kind that are so desperate to rush out airships to fill the skies that they don't waste any time with a final armor layer. Saves them lots of money, but means these things are glass cannons. Beginning to see why this thing fell out of the sky." Crowe explained.

"Perhaps this is how they caught Insomnia and Altissia so unaware. We may not have been officially at war, but their behavior for decades has warranted caution and reconnaissance has always been on the military docket. They may have needed to rush the production of the airships to keep the attack a surprise." Ignis surmised, pushing his glasses back up his nose as he gazed at the ship and saw other places where corners had been cut. Welds were not smooth at some seams, and the ship lacked much decorative flair save for what appeared to be lights running the length.

"Either way. " Crowe shrugged, and elbowed Noctis beside her pointing up, "Hey Noct warp your ass up there and cut the hydraulics so we can pry this door" Noctis followed her fingers and wondered if his engine blade could sever the pipes and almost suggested having Gladiolus do it with his greater strength and larger sword. But instead he shrugged, calling his blade.

"Got it." He warped to the top of the ship, looking down at his friends. "When you're ready."

"We should be ready for trouble just in case." Ignis stated and Everyone gave him a nod, moving away from the door and their weapons in hand. Gladiolus took a glance around them and gave him a thumbs up gesture to Noctis. Red-brown fluid poured out of the exposed piping once Noctis ruptured them, grunting with the effort as it took three more strikes to sever the thin metal. He leapt back to avoid being sprayed with the stuff, wrinkling his nose at the strong smell. The others did the same on the ground, watching until the spraying stopped and slowed to a drip.

"Did good! You earned a treat! Sparkles, go give him a kiss." Crowe gestured from Lunafreya to Noctis, the former flushing and dodging her gaze. The Prince warped back to the ground and looked at Lunafreya with furrowed brows after she walked up to him to place her hands on his shoulders and plant a simple peck on his lips. Crowe smiled and chuckled at the sight, giving Lunafreya a light pat on the shoulder when she parted from the Prince.

"Showtime." Gladiolus punched his palm and walked up to the door, gripping an external handle likely used to tether the airship to a carrier or an airfield. He grunted, giving it a hard tug, "Won't…. Budge…." He groaned.

"Okay… physics 101 big guy, door this big, pull from the top.

"Then do you have any more suggestions for how the hell to do that?" Gladiolus asked, pointing to the handles at the top of the door three meters above their heads.

"I'll warp you up." Noctis suggested, looking up with a palm shielding his eyes from the sun and squinting through the brightness. "There's more of these handles up there we should be able to push the door open from up there."

"You ever done this?"

"Nope." He didn't give his friend a chance to put up a protest, hooking an arm around the large man's waist and warped to the top of the airship in a blur of blue leaving a vapor trail of their image that lasted several seconds. Once there, Gladiolus's legs buckled, taking Noctis down with him and started vomiting until he had ejected what was left of his breakfast, spitting out stomach acid with a few final heaves. Noctis pressed the back of his hand to his mouth to keep himself from barfing from the smell and the sounds, wondering how the hell Lunafreya handled being around sick people so much. He couldn't help but begin to laugh at the sight of how poorly his friend handled the warp, intending to hold this against the next time the Shield got up his ass.

"Holy shit. How do you do that all the time?" Gladiolus asked. Noctis shrugged, laughing too hard at his friend to search for words, and Gladiolus wore he could also hear the others chuckling from the ground and promised himself to give them all a beating to remember. He gave Noctis a middle finger, which he returned, and it was several minutes before either of them were ready to try and pry the airsip's door open.

"Okay ready?" Gladiolus asked once him and the Prince were kneeling on the edge of the ship. He nodded, the Shield beginning a countdown. "Three… two… one…" Both men groaned, straining to push open the heavy door. They felt a slight shift, but after a few more seconds Noctis fell back, groaning and trying to catch his breath.

"Okay … I felt it budge… I'll go warp Prompto and Ignis up here… with four people we should be able to get that thing open. Gladiolus hesitated, leaning over with his palms on his knees before nodding, agreeing with a thumbs-up. Noctis warped to the ground, grabbing Prompto quickly, ignoring the way he stepped back and repeatedly chanted _no no no!_ and warped up.

"Ugh…" he groaned, clutching his stomach and scrunching his face. "That… sucked."

"At least you didn't barf." Gladiolus commented. It took some convincing to get Ignis to endure the warp after watching how Gladiolus and Prompto reacted to it, but he agreed that he was indeed needed to get into the airship. Prompto and Ignis a min took a minute to collect themselves, the latter also managing not to vomit, before the three of them positioned themselves at the edge of the roof. They reached down to grab the handles, shifting their stances to avoid straining their backs. "Ready?" Gladiolus asked, and like before counted down. On the mark of _three_ the trio grunted, pushing the door with all their might. With a loud grinding screech the door came loose, and collided into the ground sending dust and dirt into the air. Gladiolus jumped off the ship, preferring to risk his ankles over his stomach, but Prompto and Ignis agreed to be warped back down.

"Any sign of trouble?" Noctis asked Lunafreya and Crowe who had backed away from the open door.

"Naw, think it's empty?"

"Let's go check it out." Noctis took a step forward but Gladiolus clamped a hand over his shoulder,

"I got this stay behind me." The big man had his sword in his hand, and jumped up onto the door that now served as a ramp. He peered inside the dark compartment, readying his stance when he heard a pained groan. He squinted and saw a figure lying on a bunk at the far end of the ship. She was fair skinned with silver hair, wearing a black uniform traced with red, a metallic helmet on the floor beside a pair of tall heeled boots. A sword rested against the wall and she reached for it but winced, bringing her hand back over her chest, face contorted in pain.

"And who the hell are you?" She asked.


	20. Dead of Night

Pardon the delay in updates guys. Life got busy. I work full time and have an 11 month old. But I do hope you enjoy this chapter!

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"Who the hell are _you_ " Gladiolus snapped back. He took a step forward but felt a hand grasp his forearm,

"She's hurt." Lunafreya stated. "Put the sword down, she is of no threat to us."

"How merciful." The woman quipped back. She rested her hands back on her chest, lying back against the small bunk. "So, again. Who the hell are you, breaking into my airship?"

"Wait… I recognize you." Lunafreya interrupted. "You're the Commodore. Aranea Highwind."

"How do you know that?" Noctis asked. She had recognized the helmet on the floor, recalling stories of a silver-haired woman with an odd metal helmet that the soldiers wanted to avoid crossing. Even Ravus had once admitted to her that he would not want to be on the woman's bad side.

"In the flesh." She replied, before Lunafreya could answer, trying to flourish but flinched and forced herself to once again relax. "So, gonna shoot me or what? Would be doing me a favor at this point." She stated. "But like hell if I'm going out without a fight. Even if it's a pathetic fight."

"I'm not about to cut down a wounded woman." Gladiolus grumbled, voice low and shifting his weight on his feet, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Well I sure as shit don't have a problem shooting a Nif in the face." Crowe snarled, stepping forward. Lunafreya reached out, grabbing the back of her collar to halt her forward progress. The woman whirled around, staring at her charge's wide blue eyes.

"I prefer to _help_ the wounded." Lunafreya stated, the conviction in her tone enough to keep Crowe from walking back towards the Commodore. She dropped her grip on her Shield and stepped past her, feeling the glares she was sure were being bored into her back. "I wish to help you." Lunafreya stated, her focus back on the woman lying in the bed.

"Ah, the Oracle. Never expected to see you set foot outside the manor without a leash" Aranea quipped, though her tone lacked the sharpness from earlier. "Finally got out, huh?"

"It would seem." She answered carefully, wondering if this woman would report her location back to Caligo Uldor and fear began to grip her heart, but continued to step forward. She knelt next to the bunk when Aranea put up no protest to her approach, and reached out with her hands. She hesitated, waiting for her to nod at the unasked question before placing her hands upon her cheeks and resting her forehead against hers. _Blessed stars of life and light._ The familiar prayer came out, her light glowing in her fingertips.

The Commodore was reminded of the nights she would return to her airship after a mission high in the mountains, the heat of the engines welcoming her home after the bitter time combating the notorious Tenebraen winters. Of drinking hot mead with other mercenaries, before taking in league with the empire when there was no other means of coin left. The pain in her body faded, quickly turning into a memory as the warmth and serenity coursed through her. She had always wondered why the people revered Lunafreya akin to a goddess, and feeling her light for herself she had a feeling she might have a better understanding.

"That's a lot better. Thanks." Aranea quirked the corner of her mouth into a half-smile, and hitched herself in the bunk, resting her back against the metal wall sighing as the pressure in her body shifted leaving patches of her skin burning as sensation returned.

"What happened?" Lunafreya inquired.

"Better yet what the hell are you doing in Lucis?"

"Gladiolus please calm down and think with your head for once." Ignis interrupted.

"I dunno, I'm with the big guy. We got the _Commodore_ here, I think it's time we get a little payback." Crowe argued.

"It's just a fancy title, unbunch your panties." Aranea snapped. "I'm a mercenary. The Empire just happened to be the highest bidder. Looks pretty bad to hire a mercenary so they decided to call me Commodore." She rolled her eyes a bit before rolling each of her shoulders and rubbing at the collar bone that had felt fractured just minutes before. "Uh, lookin' a lil' pale there." She commented, looking to Lunafreya whose hands were resting on her knees, still next to her bunk.

"I'm all right." She answered back and stood despite a spinning sensation and tried to turn, hesitating slightly when her vision began to tunnel in on her. Noctis stepped forward, offering her a hand but she brushed past him, focusing on each of her steps until she found a flat metal bench bolted to the wall to calm her racing heart, fighting against the pleading in her lungs to start gasping for air as if she had run clean across Duscae.

"So what happened?" Noctis asked again, frowning as he watched Lunafreya crossing the small room.

"Even a Prince like you should have noticed that freak storm yesterday." She remarked. "Fried the computer in this flying deathtrap, makes it a little tricky to fly." She looked from Noctis to Lunafreya, biting back the question on her tongue.

"Who said anything about a prince?" Gladiolus asked, fingers flexing by his side shoulders rigid as he took a step forward.

"Ya think _that_ handsome face isn't memorable? He's the walking definition of a teenage heartthrob!" Aranea answered back. "I'd recognize that hair anywhere."

"Guess that means we have a tag-a-long." Gladuolus remarked. "Not smart to leave her here knowing where Noct is."

"I'm not moving big guy." Aranea interrupted when he opened his mouth again to continue. Her eyes tracked Ignis as he began to wander throughout the compartment, hands rifling through shelves and she opened her mouth to snap at him to stop, but stopped when she realized the helpless situation she was in. "Didja forget the part where I fell out of the sky?" she settled on instead. "Your little white-mage over there fixed me up but I still feel like I was hit by a truck." She shifted uncomfortably in the bunk to prove her point, shifting her gaze back to Gladiolus when he began to tap a foot.

"We aren't leaving you here so you call the Nifs in to rain death on us."

"You think my radio works? Seriously, I thought _I_ was the one getting over a concussion? _My computer is fried._ " She pondered the wisdom of admitting her situation, but figured at the very least the bleeding-heart blonde who was still bent over poorly hiding the fact she was still catching her breath would protest letting this gorilla of a man lay a hand on her. "Should be more worried about her over there, make sure she doesn't have a heart attack." Everyone turned to Lunafreya, Noctis having knelt down beside her exchanging a quiet conversation, Crowe standing rigid a step away, eyes trained on Aranea.

"I'll be fine." She protested.

"Noctis, I have a drink with me. I thought it best to be prepared." Ignis pulled it out of his pocket, getting a quirked brow and a laugh from Aranea,

"Where the hell were you keeping that?"

"My pockets go deeper than one would think on this garment." She laughed again, rolling her eyes "Obligatory is-that-a-can-in-your-pocket or you-happy-to-see-me joke?" she asked. Ignis scoffed, holding the can out to Noctis who channeled his magic before giving it to Lunafreya as an ether, pushing it into her lap after her first protest. She gave in, drinking it and reassuring Noctis she was beginning to feel better.

"Hmm… what's this?" Ignis asked, interrupting the debate about whether to weld the airship door shut after removing all trace of her radio versus hog-tying her to drag her along with them to drop her off at Regis's feet. "My word… it's a map!" the group's attention shifted back to him,

"So? We have on of those in the Regalia." Noctis asked. "You wouldn't let us leave Insomnia without one even though all our phones have map-apps too."

"This one has small red markers for Imperial bases. There's one north of here." Ignis answered him, tapping at the paper. "Why would they make a base there? There's nothing of note there."

"Don't ask me," Aranea bit.

"You said you were a mercenary, thus you follow coin." Ignis supplied. "Lead us to this base. Besides, another pair of arms to help us with the daemons at night would not be a bad idea." Aranea hesitated, weighing her options. Like hell if Nifleheim was going to give her a single paycheck until she worked off the value of the airship that crashed, regardless if she had jack shit to do with it or not. But this scruffy band looked awful pathetic for a royal retinue, and she doubted they had a lot of gil either. But being handed over to any other Lucians did not sound like it weighed in her favor, knowing how little anyone outside of Niflehem cared for the Empire or those in their employ. This rag-tag team seemed a bit pathetic, and she wondered if they had a single gil to _actually_ pay her. She just wish they would leave her in her damned downed airship. She had plenty of military rations and it was shelter, so she could survive on her own well enough but she doubted they would leave her on her own. _Godsdamnit. Figure it out later._ She thought to herself.

"If you got the coin, you got yourselves a dragoon."

"Consider this an audition." Noctis finally spoke up, nearly making Crowe jump after adjusting to the quiet murmurs between the royal pair. "Prove you aren't loyal to the Nifs by leading us to that base and help us burn it to the ground and we'll think about paying you. I still don't trust someone the Empire made Commodore, mercenary or not."

"I'm loyal to money, so pay up and I'm forever at your service." Aranea argued, mocking a flourishing bow, not liking this idea of being some pet under constant threat. She had enough of that with Nifleheim.

"We have the gil." Ignis interrupted. They didn't have much, but that fact would become clear to her later, though he hoped by that point they would have had the chance to accumulate more. "And as you stated the Empire will no longer be a provider of paychecks with a crashed airship on your resume.

"You really trust someone who shifts loyalties so quickly? And a _Nif_ at that?!" Crowe asked, admonished.

"Because you guys are giving me _such_ a choice." Aranea snarled back. "Either shoot me or don't. The suspense is _killing_ me!" she gasped, slapping a hand to her chest and winced. "Gah… still tender. Okay note to self, don't do that again…" she murmured, rubbing at the offended spot.

"Okay so you lead us to that base, and we all get shot by MTs, you collect a bounty that I'm pretty sure is on all our heads to pay off that airship debt, and laugh over our corpses." Crowe asked. Aranea groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Not if we sneak up. And like I said they won't pay me any damn bounties until they decide I've worked off the inflated price of this damn sardine can." The dragoon argued back. She couldn't help a frown at the thought of leaving it behind. Despite her barrage of insults for it, this metallic box was her home, had been for several years. _Maybe with enough coin I can fix it back up._

"I do believe we should sleep on this decision." Ignis suggested, hoping to cool tempers and get Gladiolus to stop looking like he was about to punch his way out of the ship.

"What has the empire been up to lately?"

"Because you'll listen to a word I say? Also, what the shit do I know what Verstael and Aldercapt are up to? They give me money, say go, I go."

"How about I knock that smile off your face a few times, have the Oracle heal you back up and then-"

"You will do no such thing!" Lunafreya snapped, flushing at the anger in her own voice. "Are you honestly suggesting torture? Are we no better than those we claim to hate?"

"I…" Gladiolus stammered, closing his mouth and shaking his head. "Fine. Let's sleep on this. But I'm keeping watch over this Nif, you guys get some sleep."

"You barely slept the other night." Prompto countered, and their friends finally turned to him, nearly having forgotten that he was there. "Not everyone from the empire is simply evil for being from there. I mean, Luna's been in their hands since she was twelve and look at her." He offered. "Let's all get some sleep tonight, but I think we should give her a chance." Gladiolus took a slow deep breath, trying to find the wisdom in the words. He wanted to point out that Lunafreya was a victim of the Empire as much as she was their citizen, and that this dragoon still had done nothing but prove how fragile her one loyalty was just as likely to be a participant in the raids on Lucis as the other soldiers of the Empire. Moreso, given her title. False or not.

"Fine." Gladiolus looked around the cabin of the airship, deciding the two remaining bunks were too small for. He was damned tired from the minimal sleep the previous night and removed his jacket, rolling it into a ball to use as a makeshift pillow and settled himself against a wall for a poor bit of sleep. Ignis rolled his eyes at the sight, asking Crowe to join him in gathering their sleeping bags for the evening, and something to entertain themselves with until night settled. The Shield hesitated, but Noctis and Prompto promised to keep her charge safe, Gladiolus reminding them _I'm a Shield too. I won't get them killed in the next half-hour_.

Aranea stood and found her legs bearing her weight, joints aching but not refusing to support her as they had immediately after the crash. The accident has left her crawling with only one functional arm across the metal floor of her airship to get to the bunk, screaming loud enough she was surprised she hadn't been heard all the way to the nearest base. With her dehydrated ration packets tucked in a different compartment on the ship, she had subsided on the bars she had stored in the small storage locker bolted to the wall next to the bunk. They tasted foul, but it meant minimal movement. Going to the bathroom had proved to be such an excruciating endeavor more than once she had debated simply soiling herself. "Ugh… if I never see another cloud again." She complained as she stretched, joints popping and protesting her prolonged time in bed. Her legs burned with pins and needles as blood rushed to them, and she almost thought she was about to faint.

"You seem to be moving with less tension." Aranea nearly yelped when she heard the Oracle's voice, the woman flinching at the dragoon's jerky movements as she turned to her,

"Holy shit you startled me. Didn't know anyone else was awake!" she tried to whisper. Prompto had eventually drifted off to sleep, and Aranea had debated using the opportunity to run off but the airship's floor creaked and groaned notoriously due to a rushed manufacturing, and she didn't want to imagine what the big guy would want to do to her if he caught her trying to sneak away.

"Apologies." Lunafreya answered. She shifted herself up, moving Noctis's arm away from her waist with a deep flush and tried not to give any focus to her racing heart and the temptation to gasp for breath with the sudden tightness in her chest.

"It's fine. And uh, yeah. I feel less fell-outta-the-sky today." She answered her. She did indeed feel quite a bit better after a night of rest and the Oracle's light, but a deep ache and a layer of fatigue remained, but she still felt as if her grievous injuries happened weeks ago, not days. "Thanks again." She gave her a small grin and a thumbs-up gesture, Lunafreya nodding at her. "You can go back to sleep. I won't go anywhere. Big guy will probably sniff me out like a blood hound if I try." She suggested, but the young woman shook her head.

"I've always been an early riser." She responded. She was quite surprised that Gladiolus was still asleep with the early hour he had decided to attempt to sleep the previous evening, wondering how long he had spent staring at the wall before sleep took him. Noctis groaned a bit from beside her, reaching out with a palm and Lunafreya grabbed a pillow to give him a surrogate figure to cuddle, the Prince drawing it in and mumbling a bit before settle back into a deep sleep. She reached beside her for the book Ignis had fetched from Gladiolus's bag for her, insisting the man wouldn't mind. Her thumb ran along the broken spine of the book before finding the page she was on to resume reading in the quiet early morning hours.

"Well I've been stuck in this thing for away too long. I'm gonna go sit on the ramp, don't go raising the alarm pretty sure you can see me from there." She waved at Lunafreya as she walked past her, the metal groaning beneath her steps as she made little attempt to maintain the silence for the sake of the sleeping others. She sat down on the ramp, and was glad for it. She enjoyed the smell of the air versus the smell of metal, burnt electronics, and terrible military ration bars that filled her airship. The breeze, despite the threat of heat behind it, felt wonderful. She couldn't help but smirk when she heard the groans from the others as they woke up, and almost wished she had stomped her way off the airship for good measure.

"Ugh… what… where the hell is she?!" Gladiolus's voice boomed, echoing in the metal room. The sound was enough to rouse Noctis from his groggy sleep, the Prince moaning and shifting uncomfortably while Lunafreya explained she had merely decided to sit on the ramp.

"Was the yelling necessary Gladio?" Prompto complained.

"Sorry." He answered, walking across the small room to assess for himself that the dragoon was indeed simply sitting on the ramp. "Man, I'm starving." He shifted subjects, realizing they all had skipped dinner before settling in. "Ignis you find food when digging around." Aranea grumbled under her breath at the thought of them rifling through her things again, holding a middle finger into the air as her only form of protest.

"I was not in search of food," the advisor mumbled, pressing his fist to his mouth to yawn. He thought about suggesting they simply eat the food he had gathered the Regalia, but couldn't argue the logic of eating readily available food and saving their own supplies. Perhaps they could pack up any rations they could fit into their bags to further stretch their supplies and have such easy meals on hand. Dehydrated food was typically a food he would sneer at, especially Gladiolus's lifelong favorite cup-noodle. He sighed, getting himself to his feet and glancing around the room wondering where Aranea would have hidden her food before asking Prompto to help him look around. After a few minutes of searching they found the dehydrated military rations and gallon jugs of water.

"Man, you sure were stashed up." Prompto remarked, realizing how many meals were stashed away in one of the lockers. Aranea shrugged, keeping her comments to herself. She enjoyed longer missions, it meant more time spent away from Nifleheim and keeping her airship well-stocked allowed her to keep away for longer without having to return to resupply or spend her precious gil. She could get five ration-meals for the price of a single meal, even if she were to prepare it herself. They also found her bunkside supply of ration bars; her maps of Lucis, Tenebrae, and Accordio; her toolkits, first-aid supplies, and a small collection of think blankets. "Wow, we should look for more airships!"

"This was indeed a fruitful endeavor."

"As long as this Nif doesn't go running back to her master to yap about Noctis." Gladiolus answered.

"Ugh… how do you guys have so much energy in the morning?" Noctis whined.

"Well good morning sleepy." Lunafreya smiled, reaching out to pat Noctis hand. He flickered his eyes up to her, returning her smile and finding the energy to hitch himself up. "You sleep well?"

"Good as always… what's that?" he asked, noticing the piles of supplies in the center of the room. Ignis reviewed their inventory, Ignis explaining things quickly. He managed to get the airship's small stove working, glad the crash hadn't destroyed the small fuel tank beneath it and served a meal to each in their party, including the injured dragoon.

"Here." Gladiolus grunted, dropping the duffle bag stuffed with the dehydrated meals and bars into Aranea's arms. The woman grunted, wincing at the newly awakened pain in her collar bone, hitching the bag over the other shoulder to ease the burden.

"Thanks." She quipped with a grunt. Gladiolus turned, picking up his own bag announcing he was heading back to the Regalia. Noctis insisted on carrying Lunafeya's bag, but she insisted she could manage her own sleep roll and sleeping bag, Crowe carrying two of Aranea's water jugs the trio following Prompto who had jogged to catch up to Gladiolus, the two of them talking over how terrible the movie adaptation of Gladiolus's favorite childhood book was simply terrible, and how they were going to make Noctis issue a royal decree once the world was saved for the movie to be remade.

"I apologize for our brutish friend." Ignis stated. "Quite rude to treat a new member of our party as such." He spoke in a soft monotone, throwing his bag over his shoulder, and reaching out to take the bag back from her,

"I don't need a pity party." She answered back. She dropped the bag onto her bunk, opening the one locker the retinue hadn't broken into to sling her spear over her back, "Oh get that look off your face I'm not going to kill you." She stated when she saw Ignis take a step back, quirking a brow at her. She hitched the small sword against the wall onto her belt and picked the heavy bag back up. walking past him to following the others before Gladiolus had more threats for her for falling too far behind. Ignis sighed, shaking his head and tucking his own sleep equipment under an arm and pulling up rear for the walk to the car.

"Where next?" Ignis asked. Aranea looked down at her map, telling him to take his next left to continue travelling north.

"We almost there? My legs are numb." Gladiolus complained from the back seat.

"It's no picnic for us either." Noctis answered him. Aranea was put into the passenger seat to direct Ignis, forcing Gladiolus to sit in the back, Lunafreya pressed against Noctis with how much room the larger man took up, Noctis leaning his weight against the car's door to try and give her a bit more room. They both felt too uncomfortable to enjoy the close contact, punctuated with Gladiolus's constant complaints.

"You sound like a child, Gladio."

"Says the guy with all the leg room."

"The best place to park the car is about ten minutes away." Aranea answered, sick of hearing the damn question. Her nerves were on edge to begin with. It ended the debate about who was most uncomfortable before it could start, the car falling back into an awkward silence save for Lunafreya quietly humming along to a song on the radio. Crowe followed as usual on her motorcycle, Prompto riding behind her trying to find the right balance between holding onto her, and giving her adequate space. The loud vehicle was the reason the group would have to park even farther from the base than they originally intended.

"Finally here." Ignis declared, Gladiolus stepping out of the car before Ignis could finish putting it into park, ignoring his shout of _wait until I take my foot off the break!_ Crowe pulled up beside them, giving Prompto a moment to clumsily dismount, stumbling and nearly losing his footing due to the bike's height.

"Man, my feet feel all numb from the vibrations." He stated, pacing around in a couple circles to get normal sensation back.

"Not the most awkward thing it can do." Crowe answered, ignoring the deep red coating Prompto's cheek and walked up to Lunafreya, "Hey, how'd you survive the drive? Anyone kill each other?" The tension when they had left had been so thick Crowe had joked you could cut it with a knife.

"They did all manage not to pull their weapons out in the car." Lunafreya answered. "Though perhaps if they cannot settle tempers I may decide to ride with you." She joked, wondering how long she could manage on the back of the motorcycle before causing them to crash. "So, we all ready to kick some Nif ass?" she asked much louder, garnering the attention of the group.

"Indeed we are." Ignis replied. "Shall we discuss some logistics before we storm in?"

"Here," Aranea pulled out one of her maps. This one a rudimentary layout of a military base, explaining that Nifleheim and their love of standards left most of their bases nearly identical and that they could easily use this layout as a guideline to come up with a game plan. With a group of only seven of them they found that stealth would be their best option.

"So is there like, some master computer we blow up and all the MTs just shut off?" Prompto asked, getting a scoff from Aranea.

"You watch too many bad sci-fi movies. No, Nifleheim isn't _that_ damn incompetent. We want to take out pretty much everything to cut off their communication with Gralea. We still need to stomp every MT in the face."

"As for the soldiers?" Lunafreya asked, earning her a quirked brow from the dragoon.

"You're the last person I would ever expect to want to show a Nifleheimer soldier mercy." She replied, letting out a short _huh._ She flushed at this answer, but provided no further explanation to her query. "I doubt the empire would waste human soldiers on a base like this, they would just fill it with their MTs and drop off a general if they wanted them to do anything." She provided. They settled into splitting into teams, one to sabotage the electronics and communications of the base, the others to try and take down the MTs once communications fell to keep them from calling in reinforcements. The sabotage team was comprised of Crowe, Lunafreya, and Ignis. Noctis was a final addition to the team when he suggested that they needed another arm to keep things even in the event they ran into trouble. Lunafreya mouthed a _thank you_ to him once they agreed with him, the Prince giving her a small smile before they both returned to listening to the plan in detail.

"The rest of us on team bazooka!" Prompto cheered.

"Bazooka? Gladiolus asked.

"Cause we're about to go blow everything up, like a bazooka." Prompto answered defensively.

"I do think _blowing everything up_ may be a bit ham-fisted for what we are attempting." Ignis answered back, Prompto sighing and shaking his head mumbling that it was a metaphor, and he didn't literally mean to go blow everything up.

"Okay, I got you guys this far. You have my damn maps, you know where the base is, you know how to get in, I think it's time I fuck off and get something real to eat." Aranea suggested.

"Oh hell no. You want to prove you're in our employ now you're tagging up with…" Crowe hesitated, rolling her eyes before finishing with _team Bazooka._

"I'm not gonna go run my mouth about the Prince. Far too pretty to go get a face like that shot." Aranea answered, but her words reassured no one and she sighed, accepting the fact she would have to join them. Though, she had to admit to herself that she wouldn't mind running her spear through a few of those freaky MTs herself. The jerky movements of the older models never sat right with her, and the near humanity of the later models was almost worse. "So are we going in there like idiots in broad daylight, or applying a little bit of brain power?" she asked.

"Waiting until nightfall is most prudent, though we may need to contend with daemons." Ignis answered, Prompto standing a bit straighter, Crowe massaging some of the remaining scar tissue on the back of her arm sneering a bit,

"Revenge against MTs _and_ some cathartic daemon-slaying? Sign me the hell up."

"If we have to wait until night to do this, why don't we go find deadeye? For the chocobos!" Prompto suggested.

"A bit exhausting to take down a behemoth and an Imperial base in one day don't'cha think?" He sighed, admitting that Gladiolus had a point, and couldn't argue with finding a sanctuary to set up camp and just spend the day relaxing until sunset to start making their approach on the base so they would have fewer daemons to fight their way though until dark finally settled.

"But after this?" He asked in a pleading tone.

"We do owe Wiz." Noctis answered.

"For the chocobos!"

They had followed Aranea's lead to a rocky outcrop approximately three hundred meters way from the rear of the base. They had left their haven at the first signs of sunset to avoid travelling the distance at full nightfall, and were awaiting the cover of darkness to infiltrate the base, hoping the lights from the base would keep a daemon-free perimeter. They split into their two groups, standing a meter apart Ignis reviewing the plan with his group, Gladiolus with his own.

"So what do we do about those two guarding the entrance?" Gladiolus asked, pointing towards the small doorway that allowed soldiers to enter and leave, Prompto complaining that he wished gun silencers lived up to their moniker.

"I can warp up and get both of them quickly, warp back, and take it from there." Noctis suggested, curling his lip at the thought of how easily that could go horribly wrong. His eyes flicked up to the guard tower at the corner of the fencing, wondering if they would be able to spot him in his warp. "As long as no one up there can see me," he added, pointing to the structure. His shoulders felt sore from how stiff he was holding himself, hand flexing at his side preparing to call forth his Engine Blade.

"Here's hoping." Prompto added, pulling his guns from his holsters.

"Anyone have a better idea?" Noctis asked. When he was met with silence he took a deep breath, turning back towards the gate. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and jolted, turning quickly and looked at Lunafreya,

"Be careful." She asked. "If something goes wrong I don't know if I can cast a shield from this far away." He nodded to her, smiling and trying to get himself to calm down from the startle. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before his sword appeared in a flash of blue light. He stood up, throwing his sword and vanished in a blue blur.

Noctis had aimed his sword at the chest of the first guard, feeling the grinding of metal on metal as he landed on target, the air filled with the smell of oil. He looked up at the sound of clunking and warped again to free himself from the mess of machinery his sword was buried in, silencing the second MagiTek. He only took a moment to assure himself both machines were rendered useless before turning to warp back to his friends. He landed back behind the rocky formations, and fell to his hands and knees, his head spinning from the rapid sequence of warps.

"Noct!" Lunafreya gasped, but he was quick to hold up his palm,

"I'm fine." He swallowed hard to try and suppress the urge to vomit, squinting to will away the spinning in his head and the bitterness in the back of his throat. After a moment it began to fade away, and he repeated his reassurances before standing back up, rubbing roughly at his face. "Ugh I need more practice at that…" he admitted, hoping to cut off Gladiolus before he could insist on the same.

"Well you still did it." His Shield approved, clapping him hard on the back. Aranea hissed a _shush_ reminding them just because those two guards were taken out, they still weren't in the clear. Gladiolus didn't approve of the idea of letting his friends go on ahead to try and shut down the computers before they followed to take out the base without risk of a signal being sent, he had yet to come up with a better plan. "Okay don't get yourselves killed."

"I'll text you for a mission complete, and chuck a fire grenade at the air for trouble." Noctis answered, though they had already reviewed every detail of the plan they had managed to stitch together multiple times since coming up with this mad quest. Ignis pulled out Aranea's basic blueprint, trying to check it for some common structure to start as a guide to gain his bearings, and with the rest of the team in tow made his way up to the gate.

Noctis followed closely behind Ignis, Lunafreya at his side with Crowe just behind them. Ignis had tucked the map away, holding up a palm to get everyone to stop while he surveyed the area just inside the base. Lights were scattered about haphazardly leaving large swaths of darkness that made him feel more optimistic about their chances of success. After a few moments of looking around Ignis turned to the other three, tilting his head to his left before walking in that direction, hugging the chain-link fence until they reached a grey brick building, side stepping and pressing up against it. The stone smelled like stale water, and felt uncomfortably damp against them, Noctis curling his lip as he wondered where the water came from. He turned his head, tilting away so he wouldn't have to touch his ear to the wet surface. He could vaguely hear voices and grinding, the sound muffled and distorted. All the crouching was beginning to aggravate the scar in his back, his left leg beginning to prickle with electric discomfort. He glanced at Lunafreya and saw a hand pressed against her side, bringing a frown to his lips but he bit down on his lip to keep from asking her obvious questions. _Gods I feel old, we've only crouched about a hundred meters and I feel like I'm about to collapse!_

Ignis held up a finger, trying his best to peer into the window of the building and quickly jerked back. Lunafreya caught his eye and mouthed _What?_ Ignis pointed at the window and held up three fingers, holding his palm parallel to the ground and bouncing his hand. Noctis could have sworn he was hyperventilating, his own breathing echoing in his ear and his chest burned begging him to take deeper breaths as he tried to remain silent. Ignis moved from the corner of his vision, crouching below the sill of the window and eased his way along the building, waving at the others to come toward him. Lunafreya was standing close enough to Noctis for their arms to touch, and he could feel her tremor. He wanted to reach out for her and grip her hand, but Ignis was already moving away from them and he didn't want to be separated any further than necessary. Crowe was watching Lunafreya as well, glancing up to Noctis who nodded at her, tilting his head towards Ignis and moving to rejoin the advisor. He stepped close to his friend, leaning against him and whispered at his ear,

"Where are we going?" Ignis curled his lip at Noctis, holding his finger over his lips and then pointed at a building with a satellite dish atop it, the only thing distinguishing it from the scattering of grey stone. Wires ran from the dish to a nearby tower with scattered red lights along it. Noctis turned his head sharply when he heard the sound of footsteps, breath catching as he tried to focus on the footsteps over the throbbing in his ears. A row of soldiers were heading in their direction from a path east of them, walking in pairs led by a man with less stiff movements than the others. Noctis cursed under his breath, jerking Ignis towards him by his collar and pointing to the soldiers who would see them if they didn't move.

Ignis looked around them trying to find a place to move to and avoid detection. They were obscured in the shadow of the building cast by the lights on the nearby tower, but stepping too far in any direction would bring them into the external lights of the building they were pressed against. The advisor cursed under his breath, trying to formulate a plan. He saw the soldier leading the others hold up a fist, the ones behind him halting almost in unison.

"Soldier! Get your ass over here!" he bellowed.

"Jigs up." Noctis hissed to his friend.

"Whelp, no more use pretending." Crowe echoed louder, and called fire in her fist launching it in the direction of the man who had called out, his curse shifting into a shriek as he threw himself to the ground to extinguish the flames that had ignited on his clothing. Noctis called one of his newly harvested fire grenades,

"Crowe blow this thing up in the air!" he shouted, tossing the vial up and the woman detonated it with flames of her own. The loud cracks of gunshots was almost obscured by the grenade's blast, knocking Noctis and his friend's off their feet as a hot blast of air hit them, the pause in gunfire giving them the moment they needed to get behind cover.

"How the hell do we fight a dozen machines with _guns_?!" Noctis complained.

"I have an idea." Lunafreya spoke up, her voice deeper than her usual. "I'll put up a shield, you and Crowe hide behind it and throw your fire at them."

"We need to-" Ignis's voice was cut off by burst of gunshots, and they scrambled away from the edge of the building, the sound of approaching footsteps forcing them to turn the corner. Noctis muttered more curses and looked around for signs of their friends. Lunafreya was pressed close to him, and he could hear her rapid breathing from just behind him, feeling the tremor in her limbs and cursing that he couldn't do anything to calm her. "Noctis, before they send out a message, warp up to that roof and sever those lines, and take out that tower for good measure!" Ignis's voice snapped his focus, the Prince looking up to the aforementioned building and wondering how to warp up there without getting killed.

"You kidding me?! While they're shooting at me?"

"What if you warp up to that tower, take out any guard inside and then warp to the roof from up there. They may be too focused on us." Crowe suggested. Another barking gun from behind them caused them all to dive into the dirt,

"Sorry guys!" Prompto called. Noctis looked up, almost laughing when he saw Prompto, Gladiolus, and Aranea running towards them.

"Dude are we happy to see you!" Noctis called over, getting back to his feet, reaching out to help Lunafreya stand back up, Crowe doing the same for Ignis. Lunafreya looked around for the soldiers, wondering which side of the building they would come around and cast a dome-shield up around them until they could locate the MTs. She watched with wide eyes as Noctis argued the safety of warping to the roof to take out the wires, wanting to put in her voice against the idea but knowing the necessity of cutting of this bases's communication with either other bases, or even Gralea. The debate didn't last long, Lunafreya eventually shouting that her shield couldn't last much longer, Noctis cursing and vanishing into the guard tower in a blur of light.

A loud klaxon silenced any attempt at conversation, the retinue covering their ears, Lunafreya gasping as her shield flickered with her momentary distraction, sand kicking up beside her feet as a stray bullet found its way through and she managed to put it back up with a startled shout, eyes wide and chest heaving. Her pulse throbbed in her ears, and she looked up for the blue blur of Noctis warping, attention forced back to her shield by Gladiolus's pained shout. A stray bullet had forced its way through her weakening shield, the magic managing to slow it enough to minimize the damage.

"I'll heal you!" She promised, voice trembling.

"I don't think it even broke the skin… Still hurts like a bitch!" He groaned, getting back to his feet. "Keep this shield up, you're savin' our asses!" Lunafreya nodded at him, her attention shifting to Prompto who was poking outside her shield to fire a shot and jerk back inside, dancing on his feet. Crowe had summoned more fire in her hands,

"Luna, what d'ya say we do a repeat of what we did with the daemon?" she called.

"I don't know if I can do that with a shield that large." She admitted, feeling her light fading.

"Pretty low on options!" A blue blur from the corner of her eye caught her attention for a bare moment, and she turned back to her Shield, nodding.

"Okay… let's try." She wished Noctis were still with them to add his fire grenades to the mix, taking in a deep breath and trying to let it out slowly, feeling it shutter against her lips. Her throat was tight, her mouth dry, fingertip pulsing as she focused on this magic.

"Prompto cover us!" Crowe insisted. Lunafreya tried not to worry, but the fear of what could happen to Prompto during the several seconds they would need to cast this attack wouldn't leave her mind. Crowe threw her fire, Lunafreya casting a large dome once it was over the soldiers, contracting it to trap the flames. Even above the klaxon they could hear the anguished screams of the man leading the machines, high-pitched grinding echoing him. Lunafreya's own shout joined the carcophany of sound, fingers curling in as pain threatened to shatter her focus. Tears burned her eyes, and she fell to her hands and knees, exhausted, when an explosion shattered the dish atop the building, wires sparking as they slid away from the roof, the red lights from the tower flickering out. She felt something heavy atop her, grunting as the air was forced to her lungs. She heard things impacting the ground, but only one gun barked in the sudden silence as the kaxons were rendered silent.

"You okay?" Crowe asked, the pressure on Lunafreya's back was relieved and she rolled over, looking up and realizing it was her Shield who had pinned her to the ground as debris from Noctis's sabotage rained around them.

"Did it work?" she countered. Crowe looked over, and nodded. The machines were jerking and twitching in chaotic motions, others lying in useless heaps on the ground. The man leading the troop of machines was curled on his side, gasping and groaning in pain.

"I… I should help him." Lunafreya whispered in an empty suggestion. She stared at the man, writing on the ground. She squinted, her ribs giving a phantom throb as she remembered a gauntlet impacting her side. _Quite a lovely thing._ A voice echoed in her own memories, stroking her arms. She squinted them away, balling her fists.

"Fuck that." Crowe answered back, curling her lip. "I should light him on fire again."

"No." She answered, and opened her hands, looking at her palms. The skin was deep red, and peeling in places.

"Luna!" A blur of blue and Noctis was beside her, kneeling down. He reached out for her wrists, keeping his hands open and palms up in a gesture asking her for permission to touch. She met his eyes, biting down on her lip and placed the backs of her hands against his palms, "There's still MTs left." She stated, hoping to turn his focus away from her burns.

"They got that." Noctis answered, nodding over to where Prompto, Gladiolus, and Aranea had gone to finish off the MTs now that they seemed to have given up on their guns. She followed his gesture, watching the efficient takedowns and bit her lip when they all circled around the man curled on the ground. Prompto reached out, his arm trembling slightly as his gun pointed down at his head,

"No!" She shouted. Noctis flinched at her shout, turning his head quickly. His finger was pressed to the side of the gun, and lowered his arm to turn his attention back to something Aranea had said. "We are better than them!" she tried to offer. She knew if this man could stand he was no better than the others in Tenebrae. She reached a hand over her chest, palm ghosting her side the tenderness in the skin preventing her from hugging her ribs. She remembered sore nights from twisted wrists, pulled hair, bruises to her abdomen and back. Scars from times they would get even more aggressive. She squinted, trying to push away the memories.

"Okay so anyone else concerned about why the hell this was it?" Gladiolus asked, looking around. They had made a great deal of noise during the battle, yet there were no soldiers firing from the guard towers, no one exiting the nearby buildings, no airships taking to the skies. "What gives?"

"Yeah kinda odd…" Prompto agreed. Aranea was looking around, spear still in hand as she looked for the next wave.

"They always have more MTs than this." She commented. "Come on." She suggested, walking to the building that had been Ignis's original destination. "We should check out their computers make sure they didn't manage an S.O.S." she suggested.

"What about this dude?" Prompto asked, pointing to the soldier who was still lying on the ground groaning. With her adrenaline beginning to settle Lunafreya was able to take in more detail when she looked to the only human they had fought. His uniform was burned throughout, in places revealing deep red or blackened skin. He was lying on his side panting, the occasional groan punctuating his wet wheezing breaths. His limbs were trembling, fingers curled into fists and pulled close to his body. She squinted away the images of bodies from the daemon-sacked city.

"I should heal him." Lunafreya repeated her earlier suggestion. Aranea scoffed, waving her hand dismissively.

"Fuck him! He tried to kill us." Gladiolus grumbled. not liking the idea of her leading the crew, jogging to catch up to her to match pace, the others walking after her. Lunafreya hung back slightly, Noctis at her side.

"To view it from a tactical angle, a man capable of speech is of more use to us in providing information than one in this state." Ignis suggested, getting a small weary smile from Lunafreya. She approached the man, looking down at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but his first attempt at words faded into a whimper and a wet cough that caused him to gag. She placed her fingertips on either side of his face, her own expressionless as she gazed at his agonized features, whispering her prayer and pouring her light into him. Black skin faded to red, then pink. Pained groans silenced into desperate panting breaths. He uncurled his fingers, chest hitching as he gasped for air, wiping the foaming drool from the corner of his mouth.

"The Lady Lunafreya." she withdrew her hands and stood, darting her eyes away from him. "Th-thank you."

"We should assess this base for evidence of a signal, as you suggested." She directed to Aranea.

"Get up," Aranea ordered when she walked up to the soldier, reaching down and jerked him to his feet.

"Commodore Highwind?! You're… this is treason! I'll see you before the firing squad!" he snarled.

"The Oracle just healed your ass after her Shield turned you into bacon and you're outnumbered six-to-one. Care to threaten me again?" she asked, quirking a brow. He curled his lip, scowling.

"Why are you with these people?" he asked.

"They're a paycheck." She answered. "Big guy, put those muscles to use." She suggested to Gladiolus, who gave her a middle finger before grabbing the soldier by the back of his uniform. Lunafreya flinched when the soldier cursed, watching him closely as he started to walk when Gladiolus pushed him forward. "I left my keycard on my airship, care to help a girl?" Aranea asked after patting at the pockets in the uniform.

"Fuck you." He spat. Lunafreya swallowed hard when she could taste bile in the back of her throat at the though that she should have only partially healed him, and let him walk with the agony of his burns but with the functionality of his lungs. She felt Noctis reach out for her, and she curled her fingers to keep him from gripping her burned palms, but made no motion to shake him off when he wrapped an arm around her waist instead.

"Ugh, fine." Aranea rolled her eyes, Lunafreya struggling to control her breathing. Her eyes felt sore and she blinked several times to ease the burning, keeping a distance between herself and the Nifleheimers. "Hold his arms, _please_." Gladiolus was happy to grip the wrists of the soldier, twisting his arms so any sudden movements were as likely to dislocate his own shoulders as they would be to free him from the Shield's grip. With the man restrained the dragoon was able to reach into the front of his shirt and pull out an identification card with a magnetic strip, swiping it through the keypad to the right of the door giving a whoop of victory when the light turned green. She reached for the door handle and pushed the door open stepping inside. She looked around, and felt her pulse throb in her ears.

"What… what the fuck is this?" she whispered, turning sharply to the soldier, " _What the fuck is this?!"_

* * *

Admittedly writing Aranea is very difficult at this point in the story. She's in quite a difficult position so writing her behavior to reflect that is a challenge and I hope you find me successful.


	21. The Nif Base

I know this chapter is short, but it felt like an appropriate stopping place and I hope this lives up to the cliffhanger ending of the previous chapter.

* * *

Aranea grabbed the soldier who made a poor attempt to step away from her by the front of his shirt, Noctis stepping back out of her way colliding with Gladiolus's chest. The soldier flinched, bringing his arm up to break her grip but her elbow impacted his nose, the man bellowing in pain and doubling over with both hands covering his face. She gripped the back of his uniform, dragging him to the doorway and throwing him inside. Once she took a step in after him the smell to match the sight within stung her eyes, and she nearly stepped back, a hand covering her nose and mouth. Noctis brushed his way past his friends to see what had jarred Nifleheim's former Commodore, mirroring her action as his hand slapped over his own face once at the threshold.

One side of the room was lined with hospital beds, each occupied by a body. Across from it was a metal desk with a computer and multiple binders, notebook pads, writing utensils, and a filing cabinet at the end one drawer misaligned and not fully closed, a few stray papers poking out from the over-stuffed files. The northern wall had two metal doors with a keypad, and Noctis wasn't sure he wanted to know what lay behind them. On one hospital bed a man, clearly overheated, lay with his blankets tossed to the floor, writhing in the bed with soundless moans on his lips. Both his legs had been amputated, one above the knee and the other below. His skin was a sickly yellow-grey with tendrils of black creeping up messily closed incisions from his amputations. The man was nude, his hospital johnny having been cast to the floor with his linens. A second man was lying in a bed, leather straps holding him down dressed in nothing more than a set of underwear, ice packs at his groins and armpits. One arm had been amputated near the shoulder, the bandage soaked in blood, staining his sheets in a crimson that looked too dark to be human blood. He was shivering, rattling the metal of the restraints clattering against the bedframe.

The third figure appeared to be where most of the odor was coming from. Covered in blankets it was impossible to tell if they were missing any limbs like their fellow patients, but the blankets were soaked in an unknown liquid, saturated with it enough that a pale yellow puddle was forming beneath the bed. Threads of black were visible on the figure's neck, reaching up to wrap around one ear which was partially soughed off revealing moist pink tissue beneath thick grey peeling scales, the side of their face and neck wet. Their nose was also black, the skin around their eyes thick and peeling, the fluid on their face indistinguishable as either tears or fluids oozing from the damaged tissues. Large tufts of hair had been sloughed away from a peeling scalp, leaving the figure unrecognizable in conjunction with the other horrors wracking their body.

A fourth bed was empty, neatly made but the linens bore stains, sending a shiver down Noctis's back. All three of the people in the occupied beds had a series of wires connecting them to an array of machines displaying various lines and numbers, quiet beeps filling the room between the moans of the people, and Noctis's own rapid breathing. The figure with fluids seemingly seeping from everywhere was connected to something intravenous, the label on the bag unreadable from the doorway.

Noctis blinked, his feet rooted to the floor despite every instinct in him screaming to _run_. Everything was wrong. These people looked wrong, their moans were wrong, they _smelled_ wrong. Bile rose to the back of his throat, his nose burning with a sudden sharp odor, the sounds of the room drowned out by his racing heart throbbing in his ears. He staggered back, nearly bumping into Lunafreya in his haste to dash outside, heaving green bile onto the pavement. He hadn't thought of grabbing her to keep her from entering that room. When she rushed to see what startled him so, her horrified yelp punctuated every fiber of him screaming the word _wrong_ over and over. He wanted to stand, to grab her, shield her from this sight, the smells. But he couldn't blink away the image from behind his eyelids, or convince his stomach to stop evacuating. His ears throbbed, his throat burned. His fingers were numb, and his legs were threatening to cease holding him up. His breathing came in desperate gulps for air, only realizing how fast he was breathing when he felt a hand on his back,

"Breathe… c'mon man breathe in and out." It was Gladiolus, his hand firmly patting his back. The roughness was helping to ground him as being outside of that room, and tried to focus his thoughts on his friend's voice. He could hear the others reacting similarly to him, Prompto gagging several feet away got Noctis vomiting up even more foamy bile, groaning from the cramps settling into his stomach from the strength of his retching.

"What the hell man, is _this_ what the Empire does?" He pointed at the doorway, and judging by Gladiolus's grunt the man was just barely faring better than the rest of the retinue.

"I have to help them!" Lunafreya's voice carried through the various exclamations, gagging, and gasps coming from the group. Noctis stood up, far too quickly and felt his vision tunnel for a moment, shaking his head before stepping after her, halting several steps into the doorway to stand beside Crowe who stood a few paces into the room, and watched Lunafreya kneel beside the bed of the individual most desperately ill. After a few moments of hesitation Crowe left the Prince's side and walked slowly so she stood just behind Lunafreya, too tense to stand idly by the doorway, despite the revulsion at standing so close to the retched sight. Gladiolus stepped into the room to stand beside the Prince, fingers drumming against his thigh as his eyes fixed on the two doors across from them. Aranea was in the center of the room with the soldier they had previously abducted kneeling in front of her with his back to her, his gun in her hands pointed to the back of his head.

"Care to explain?" Aranea asked, pushing against the man's head, causing him to bob forward. Lunafreya was whispering her prayers to the person with the soaked sheets, hands aglow, and eyes closed as she tried to pour her light into them. Noctis has gone with her on one outing to heal the people of Tenebrae, and he had seen her all but work miracles. Bu the had never seen her even attempt to rescue a person in so desperate a state.

"We are working to find a cure for the blight." The man ground out, grunting as Aranea pushed the back of his head again.

"Bullshit." She snapped back. Noctis turned his attention back to her when Gladiolus spoke,

"Who let her have a gun?" Gladiolus asked.

"If she wanted to kill everyone she'd a' done it by now." Crowe supplied. Ignis was still outside trying to calm Prompto down, and Noctis felt a pang of guilt that he wasn't also outside with his friend, or beside Lunafreya. But he couldn't convince his legs to move. _I'm useless. Another useless Lucian. No wonder everyone outside of Insomnia hated my father. I'm sitting just as idle._ He worried his bottom lip, eyes scanning the room for any sign there was something he could _do._ Lunafreya was still feverently praying over the same man. He was moaning less than before, and the beeping of his machines were less rapid, but there was no other sign she was making significant progress.

"I'm not gonna shoot you." Aranea rolled her eyes. "Maybe him, but not you. I ask again, what the hell is this?!"

"I told you-"

"What is all this commotion? General I-" A man in a white uniform stepped out from one of the rooms behind the keypad locked doors. He had a blue surgical mask on to match protective gloves, hat, and paper boots. "Who the hell are all of you?!" he exclaimed, backing into a room and slamming the door. A new klaxon began to sound, echoing throughout the base, causing the group to collectively flinch. Noctis cursed under his breath, debating summoning his blade but decided against it with the limited space.

"What's the code?!" Aranea snapped, pushing the back of the soldier's neck with the gun. Hearing the conviction in her voice Noctis had to suppress the impulse to tell her to just pull the trigger already and give them one less Nif in this base to worry about. Aranea repeated her question, a bit louder and with a lot more cursing. The solider let out an irritated hiss, scrunching his nose before turning to look up at her,

"Just shoot me." He insisted. "I'm not telling you anything." Aranea groaned at the reply, rolling her eyes. Noctis turned to face them, bouncing on one leg, wondering of this turncoat was going to succeed at getting them into this room with the uniformed man; but he was concerned the new alarm would have MTs or possibly other humans charging into the building before they could get that far. His eyes flickered between the argument over the code, the door across from him, stepping back several paces to rest against the wall behind him, Gladiolus stepping instead further into the room to stand point by the door that had just opened.

"Hey, you," Aranea gestured at Ignis. "the one with the sexy glasses. Weren't you the one who was gonna get some info for us anyways? See if there's anything interesting lying around. With how stupid MTs can be, and unrealiable humans can be, pretty sure something laying around would have a passcode on it." She suggested. Noctis opened his mouth to ask her what gave her the impression she could order his advisor around, but he didn't want to give this Nif the impression of discord in his retinue. Ignis had only entered the room moments before being addressed, with a very pale-faced Prompto hovering in the doorway, eyes fixated on anything in the room that wasn't the bedridden people. Looking at the threads of black wrapped around their skin left him scratching at himself, neck growing pink. Noctis looked up to Gladiolus who gave him a nod in Prompto's direction, Noctis nodding and lifting himself from where he felt as if he were melting into the wall, glad for the excuse to step back outside and away from _this_.

"I shall try, and my name is Ignis." He had answered her, ignoring her smirk to approach the disorganized desk, wrinkling his nose at it wondering how that scientist could possibly work in these conditions. He wasn't sure where to start with the plethora of paperwork before him, doubting that he would find the code. Noctis listened to the conversation while he approached Prompto, a palm against his back as his friend groaned and doubled over, swallowing hard to keep himself from returning to retching.

"You really think we would leave the keypad code just lying around?" the soldier quipped. Ignis absentmindedly opened the notebooks and flipped open a binder or two, eyes glancing over the pages without taking in a word. He recalled codes to lock certain doors at the citadel, and a bad habit some of the newer security staff had at one point until they were on the receiving end of one hell of a scolding from Drautus.

"I do feel that regardless of your intentions, we will get the keypad code." He stated in a quiet monotone, getting concerned looks from the others. Prompto was still too busy trying to re-capture his breath to notice, Noctis with a palm on his back. "I'll give you a chance to give me the code, before I take it from you." He suggested carefully. Lunafreya's eyes were the only ones not trained on the advisor at that point, Prompto managing to tear his gaze away from the gray floor Noctis also looking up in confused alarm. Ignis was pacing slowly towards the soldier on the ground, who bumped his own head against the gun muzzle trying to turn to face the man.

"Do your worst." He ground out. His eyes were wide, his pupils dilated. There was a slight shaking in his limbs, bottom lip quivering to match the tremor in his tone. Ignis finished his steady walk up to the man and got down onto one knee,

"I see." He answered and reached out quickly, causing the man to flinch. His fingers wrapped around the soldier's name badge, pulling it free and flipped to look on the back, smirking when he saw the numbers _83732_ written in permeant marker. "You know, this is why this is a bad habit."

"Hah! Hell yeah, open that door up!" Aranea cheered, "Knew those glasses weren't just for show!"

"What's the code man?" Gladiolus asked, typing it into the keypad as Ignis recited it, everyone ignoring the empty protests from the soldier.

"Can I shoot him yet?" Aranea complained, pushing at the back of his head again. "He's _really_ annoying."

"I second that." Crowe answered in little more than a whisper, giving a glance at Lunafreya who was still desperately pouring her light into the figure on the bed. She opened her mouth to suggest she move on to one of the others but the sharp crash of the door being opened jarred both her and the Oracle, the latter flinching with a gasp, staring up at the doorway.

"Holy shit." Gladuolus murmured, "This… this is messed up." His fingers curled into fists, and the figures in the next room cursed at the intrusion.

"What?" Noctis asked, rushing across the room trying to look but Gladiolus's broad frame made it difficult. His Shield stepped aside and the Prince pushed past him, feeling his prior nausea return almost instantly. Three men were in the room, and all had quickly backed to the far wall. They were dressed as the scientist they saw earlier, white uniforms and surgical gear. The room was cold, a metal table in the center of the room atop which rested what appeared to be a human leg, the foot black veins standing out against grey flesh in curving lines of black. On another table was a metallic bowl, the contents obscured. On another table lay what appeared to be blood unit bags, one of the bags was swirling with black. A bag hung from a pole with a line going down to the leg, and a large basin. Notebooks, laid out far more meticulously than the ones on the desk, covered a table making an L-shape with the one continuing the surgical instruments. The cowering men had red and black stains on their hands, and the front of the surgical gowns.

"Oh Gods… I'm never eating again…" Noctis backed away, turning towards Lunafreya, glad to see she was still trying to focus her attention on healing.

"What the hell is this place?" Prompto asked, voice quivering. "We should get out of here." He didn't need to peer past his friends to get a look into the room, their voices telling him enough, fighting every urge to run far away.

"After we burn it to the ground." Noctis added, voice quiet and level. His fists were balled by his sides, backing away from the opened room. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to throw a fire grenade into the room then slam the door, command Aranea to open fire, or give Gladiolus the catharsis of strangling these men with his bare hands. He swallowed back these dark impulses, hearing Lunafreya's voice in his mind reminding him _we can't sink to their level._

"Take all these papers first. This place is disgusting but they aren't doing it for funsies." Aranea remarked.

"What is it that you are hoping to discover?" Ignis asked, looking down at the soldier. "Don't play ignorant." He suggested. The man remained stubbornly silent and he rolled his eyes, "I plan to take your paperwork and thumb through it at length. You are not withholding information by remaining silent. Merely delaying."

"You damn Lucians, sitting here in your lovely continent an ocean away. You have no idea what the Blight is really like. You don't know what it does, acting like you're better than us. We need to cure it, especially now that you took our Oracle!" He finally snapped, grinding his teeth together. Noctis threw a cursory glance at Lunafreya, her tension evident in her posture, but she retained her focus on the people before her, having moved on to the man missing an arm shivering madly in his bed. Crowe pulled the blanket off the floor to cover him, throwing aside the ice. Hearing the soldier's voice she stood back up and took a step to put herself between Lunafreya and the soldier, despite Aranea continuing to press the gun against the man's head.

"So you're researching the blight?" Ignis asked, quirking a brow to feign ignorance. The fact was evident enough, but he needed to hear the man say it aloud. He wanted to hear him speak it, to know he wasn't a monster for the impulses he was struggling to hold back in his heart.

"The men in there are unarmed." The soldier insisted, swallowing hard.

"Oh well, guess I _won't_ shoot them now for doing… _that."_ Aranea replied, pointing with the gun. "Just trying to be helpful, huh?" she inquired. "I've been inside a Gralean hospital, typical B;ight patients sure as hell don't look like this." She ground out. "Before I blow every single one of these monster's brains out, what are we _actually_ gonna do with them?" she asked, enjoying the agitation in the soldier every time she shoved the back of his head with the gun.

"Luna could probably focus on healing these guys without these assholes around too," Crowe added. "The faster we get them out of here the faster we can help these poor dudes."

"Umm… yeah." Noctis agreed with them, shaking his head to jar himself out of his stupor. "I should call Regis, he should know about this." He hesitated a moment before speaking his father's name, suppressing the first reaction to call him _my dad_ , instead hoping to put these Nifs further ill at ease by dropping the name of the King they failed to assassinate even with every resource they had thrown at Insomnia.

"Running to daddy?" the soldier began to laugh, but cut off with a loud _ow_ when the gun was slammed into his head hard enough to knock him over.

"Your voice pisses me off, so stop talking." She insisted. She looked up, each of the men in surgical gear being beckoned out of the room by Gladiolus's loud voice. They tried to insist that stopping what they were doing now would interrupt weeks of work, set them back. But the words had the opposite effect they were hoping for. Each was dragged from the room and thrown to the floor, all four men held at gunpoint as Gladiolus was happy to borrow Prompto's guns and hold these Nifs at bay while Noctis stepped outside, hoping that exiting the stone building would provide better cell service.

* * *

So for the brevity of this: I was concerned that the entire mood of this chapter would be ruined by including quite literally anything else. I started writing more and realized that it was greatly shifting the mood I (hope I) established, and decided to end it here instead. I hope this lived up to "what the fuck" and you enjoyed!


	22. Minty

So one section of this got reworked over and over and over for about 3 days. I kept running it past my beta reader, questioning myself, rewrote scenes, and I hope the outcome is enjoyable!

* * *

"Come on… yeah!" Noctis cheered after a few moments of pacing the space just through the building's doorway, feeling too tense to venture far off in search of a signal. He tapped at his phone with a tremor in his hands, struggling with connecting the call to his father, taking in slow breaths to try and steady his voice while he listened to the ringing.

"Son, how are you?" he sounded surprised, and tired. _Damn._ Noctis cursed to himself. He hadn't thought of checking the time before making the call.

"I need some help dad, we encountered something. Everyone's okay!" He added the last two words quickly, picturing how fast his father was probably about to jump to his feet, wincing at his own choice of words.

"What's wrong?"

"Kind of a long story I'll try to keep it short," Noctis answered and began to summarize everything that had happened, hoping his father wouldn't think him crazy for even thinking to trust this Aranea woman. His father remained patiently quiet on the other line, and for several long moments after Noctis told him of the horrors they discovered at this Nifleheimer base, he finally spoke.

"These are war crimes, so do not yet harm these men. They must stand proper trial, show them how we do things in Lucis."Noctis understood the subtext to these words, and realized how much Lunafreya had in common with his father. "I will notify Cor, he will gather some trustworthy hunters to come arrest them and bring them to Lestallum." After agreeing with this plan and asking to be notified when people were on their way they exchanged short goodbyes, Noctis shoving his phone back into his pocket once he ended the call. He had hoped his father would have wise words for him or reassurances to help calm him down after seeing this shit, but his father had almost seemed as shaken as him. He sat down with his back against the base wall, giving himself several minutes to breathe, confident his friends had everything inside the room under control. _Resorting to using hunters as our military police force?_ He pondered, wondering if there were any glaives who had survived without licking the Empire's boots.

Ignis had eventually joined his Prince outside, needing a break from the tension inside the base. Gladiolus and Aranea had decided to check out the remaining room, noticing it was a storage room for various pieces of equipment. They emptied it, inspected it for any sign of something that could be used as a weapon, and locked their four Nifleheimer prisoner's in the second room telling them they would shoot them if they tried to come out before being fetched. With the Nifs contained Ignis had tried to set about reading through the various papers on the desk, but found he was too agitated to handle reading their contents from the moment he read the word _Blight_ on the first sheet.

"Did the King have a solution to our problem?" he inquired, sitting against the wall beside Noctis.

"He called Cor, and Cor called me a few minutes ago. Guess he's meeting up with some hunters, gonna meet us here. I gave him the best directions I could, he thinks they should be here before dark." He wondered if they were all going to spend a night in this nightmare of a place, and couldn't yet decide if he'd rather risk facing daemons or a night in it.

"Ah, we shall meet the Immortal once again." Ignis answered, sighing and tilting his head back. "I'll be sure to gather all the notes here. Perhaps we can gleam some information from them."

"I dunno, Cor and the guys will probably want to take everything as evidence. Regis said he wanted to try these Nifs for war crimes." Noctis sighed too, wondering if they were contagious like a yawn. "So may want to read them while we can. Or see if they have a copy machine." He suggested with a shrug. After a moments pause he knit his brows, sitting straighter, "How's Luna?" he asked.

"Don't jump to your feet yet. She is working with the final man now, Crowe is with her. I would have come to get you had I thought she required your presence but as it stands her focus is on trying to heal these three." Ignis tried to reassure Noctis, reaching out to pat his shoulder.

"Did she have to see shit like this all the time if the Nifs dragged her around like their ace in the hole for dealing with the blight?" he mused aloud, trying to will away the image of the humanoid in the bed that he was starting to wonder if a bullet would be considered a mercy rather than a murder. "How'd she get through twelve years with her marbles intact?"

"That young woman has quite the fortitude." Ignis answered. "I suspect the hope of a certain friendship may have given her some measure of strength to endure." He added. Noctis let a breath out through his nose, beginning to bounce his leg, palm tapping against his thigh.

"I know we need to do all these covenants. But we need to blow up every Nif base we see. If they do shit like _this_ Iggy, how can I justify running around ignoring it?" He wondered if there were more like this.

"First let us discover what this base was up to. Perhaps then, with motivations in hand, we can better track down other bases with some sense of strategy. As much as I would like to simply rain fire upon everything, I do not believe it will be this easy next time."

"Yeah." Noctis agreed. As he thought about it the tapping of his thigh grew more into kneading his leg, realizing how relatively easy it had been to take over this base. It felt odd. He was still waiting for another wave of MTs to appear, wreaking havoc among them. "I should check on Luna." He suggested again, only for Ignis to remind him where her attention was and reassured him that she would likely come outside with Crowe's encouragement the moment she felt she was finished administering what healing she could. "Feels like we've been at this building for hours. But its been what, a half-hour, tops?" he asked. Ignis shrugged, keeping the correction _forty_ to himself.

"I think we should discuss sleeping arrangements." Ignis suggested.

"Daemons are probably everywhere, not sure we'd make it to the car to get our sleeping bags in one piece." Noctis answered, questioning in retrospect the wisdom of coming to the base under cover of darkness. Now they had no feasible way out and the thought of being in this hell-hole until daylight was surely enough to keep him tossing in his sleep all night with nightmares. He wasn't sure he would ever be able to scrub his memory of the smell of that room from his mind's eye, even if he somehow blocked out those images.

"Although this base has only a handful of humans in it, perhaps there was a barracks with beds for them to sleep at night?" Ignis suggested.

"Maybe. Remind me why we just jumped the gun and decided to trust and follow a Nif? Questioning this nighttime adventure now that we're trapped in this place until morning." He grumbled. Ignis paused before answering, Noctis starting up again. "I shouldn't have let her order you around." It was still bothering him that Aranea had commanded Ignis to look for the door code. Even if it worked in the end, why did he let a Nif give his advisor orders?

"If it bothered me I assure you I would have put up protest. But there was a wisdom in her suggestion and it was prudent for us to find that code." He insisted. Noctis wondered how they would find if this base had a barracks.

"Maybe we should walk around and look for a barracks." Noctisi suggested. He let out an irritated sigh when Ignis replied with a suggestion to ask Aranea to help narrow their search, not wanting to risk stumbling upon some new horror by searching on their own. "It's like you can read my mind." He complained, but couldn't find a valid argument to suggest otherwise, outside his own stubbornness, not wanting to rely on her again.

"Noctis?" Lunafreya inquired, stepping out of the base with Crowe close beside her. The young woman looked exhausted, pressing the back of her palm against her mouth to stifle a yawn. Her knees ached from the prolonged time on her knees, and she had little to show for it. She glanced over her shoulder with a frown, wishing she could have done more than ease these peoples' pain. She helped accelerate the healing of some amputation wounds, soothing them all into a sleep. She was unsure the third would ever awaken and it panged her heart at the thought that they would die without their family by their side.

"Luna!" Ignis leaned away from Noctis to dodge the elbow that almost struck his face with the Prince's haste to get to his feet. Lunafreya held her palms up and offered him a smile in an attempt to ease his apparent anxiety.

"I'm all right Noct, just perhaps a tad exhausted." She couldn't recall the last time she had spent so long healing so few people. "Do you bear news of what we shall be doing now?" she inquired, sure that between the Prince and his advisor a plan would be devised. Noctis nodded, but before telling her about Cor he closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her. She hesistated for only a moment before returning his embrace, her arms pulling tighter when she felt him do the same, fingers gripping the fabric of the back of his shift.

"I shall go inquire about those barracks." Ignis offered, walking past the couple to enter the room. Noctis held Lunafreya for a moment longer after she began to release her own hold before finally stepping back.

"You need an ether?" he asked, wondering if Ignis had another mysterious stash of energy drinks in his pockets. She chuckled and shook her head, reassuring him all she needed was some proper sleep and by morning she would feel herself again. "Speaking of sleep, that's what me and Iggy were talking about."

"What are we going to do?" she glanced up as if to confirm that it was still dark, knitting her brows together. "I assume we are a bit… stuck here." She added after a moment. Noctis nodded, sighing and giving her an apologetic smile. "Hmm… that must be why Ignis mentioned something about a barracks?" She couldn't help but scrunch her nose at the thought of spending the night in this place, the pale hair on her arms standing on end as goosebumps rolled down her limbs.

"Yeah. Man is everyone reading minds tonight? What's in the water?" he asked. "Can I have some? Get some psychic powers to go with my elemental badassery?" he requested, pouting his bottom lip. Lunafreya chuckled, giving him a light slap on the arm. She was relieved to see him smile, but the smile faded quickly, and he shifted his weight between his feet.

"Are we locking those four men in that room for the entirety of the evening?" Lunafreya asked. "I am not protesting this action," she held up a finger when she saw Noctis open his mouth to speak. "Merely concerned that once again we shall not be allowed to sleep as a group, as someone would have to keep watch on that door." She explained. After the sight she saw in that mockery of an operating room, she had wanted to suggest that they lock the men in that cold room, but there were too many things in there that could serve as a weapon. Noctis frowned at her, reaching out to place a kiss atop her head, keeping himself close to her. She closed the final step, resting her head against his chest, listening to the rapid pounding of his heart.

"My dad is having Cor and some guys come here to arrest these Nifs on war crimes." Noctis explained. "Not sure how long it'll take them to get here, Cor called me earlier."

"But the daemons? Shouldn't they wait until morning?"

"They're all hunters, they fight daemons for a living." He reassured her, wincing as he wondered how true his words were. Noctis flinched when he felt a familiar warmth suddenly ignite in him, stepping back and looking down at Lunafreya, placing his hands on her shoulders, "what are you doing?"

"Your heart is racing… I wanted to help ease some of your distress." She answered.

"But you've already healed those guys in there until you were ready to pass out." He countered. She shook her head, palms going back to his chest and fingers resuming their glow.

"I assure you Noctis, merely helping you feel less tense will not drain me of my strength." She tried to chuckle. Her fingertips glowed and she flushed slight as she could hear Crowe in the back of her mind calling her _Sparklefingers_ , placing her palms on either side of Noctis's face, urging him to lean down slightly so she could press her forehead to his. After a short prayer she felt him slough slightly and drew back, glad to see less tension in his posture.

"So… how are they?" Noctis asked a moment after the warmth of her light had faded. She bit down on her bottom lip, looking over her shoulder at the building. She shook her head with a light shrug, letting her breath out in a slow sigh.

"It… does not bode well. I could push back the blight in one of the men, but the other two are too far gone. I did my best to ease their discomfort and I can only hope that their suffering will soon end." She answered. Noctis flinched at her honesty, and had hoped for some miracle. He wondered if the one man she was hoping would pull through could provide them with some information on what had gone on in this place. As his mind drifted to these victims a chill ran down his limbs and it felt almost as of bugs were crawling beneath his skin begging him to run, but he felt the effects of Lunafreya's light begin to ease away the rising anxiety before it could take root.

"Are they okay to move? Can we get them to an actual hospital?" he inquired. He paused then, knitting his brows and wondering where to take them. Did Lestallum have hospitals? It was a large enough city, surely it had the infrastructure of a medical system. But it felt so damn far away.

"I fear not." Lunafreya answered him, bangs coming loose from behind her head as she shook her head _no_. "Perhaps the man with whom I was able to push back the blight, but as for the others…" She hesitated, mouth opening and closing as she searched for the right word, "the soul whom is closest to death may not make it through the day. I do not know how the empire has sustained them for this length. I have never seen such a thing… nor felt it." She added the final words after taking a step closer to Noctis, glad he brought his arms tighter around her without her needing to ask.

"Noctis?" The Prince flinched upon hearing his name, Lunafreya stepping back out of his arms as they both looked towards Ignis, who held a palm up in apology. "It appears that there were quarters for the Nifleheim scientists and the soldier overseeing them" Ignis explained.

"Shit, I hope they put more than four beds." Noctis sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"One way to find out." Ignis answered with a shrug.

"Well is Aranea going to show us this place or just make us run around on a wild goose chase?"

"Unbunch your panties!" A female voice chimed, Aranea stepping outside. "I'll show you. Just had to hand off the gun to muscles back there. Does he wax his chest? He's like some Fabio from the cover of a _romance_ novel." She held her fingers up to make air quotes.

"Well he does have a mullet, so half-has the long hair." Noctis answered, getting a quirked brow from his compatriots. "What? I don't need to read the things to get the joke." He answered their looks defensively.

"I always thought you never liked to reach much. Perhaps I've merely offered you the wrong reading material." Lunafreya teased him, biting down on her bottom lip in a failed attempt to restrain her giggle. Aranea laughed, stepping past the two men to plant her hand on Lunafreya's shoulder, smiling despite the woman's flinch.

"I like you." She stated, patting her shoulder and starting to walk down the path between buildings, raising her arm making a _follow me_ gesture. Noctis exchanged a look with Ignis, shrugging at his scrunched expression and started to follow Aranea, Lunafreya keeping pace at his side. They were led two buildings down to another structure that looked as if it were constructed from cinder blocks. "Home sweet home for the night." She announced, thumbing at the building. "Enjoy your five-star accommodations, courtesy of the Empire." They punched in the key code from earlier, thanking Ignis's astounding memory and were pleasantly surprised to find the Nifs were dumb enough to use a universal code at this base. Inside were four lines of bunks, a metal trunk at the foot of them. "Like I said, five-star comfort."

"Speaking of five star… I wonder if they have any food in here. Even if all they have is flour and pickles Ignis could turn it into something." Noctis pondered with a rumble from his stomach, his body reminding him how hungry he was now that the question of obtaining sleep seemed to be answered.

"Eh, I doubt it. Empire's stingy, they wouldn't risk keeping food where everyone sleeps in case someone got the idea for a midnight snack. I can go raid round looking for their storage." Aranea answered, clicking her tongue.

"I shall join you. Gather inventory for myself to see what I could serve as a meal." Ignis looked at her, getting a shrug in reply.

"I've had worse company. All right. You two gonna run a royal inspection? Make sure it's up to fancy-pants standards?" Aranea asked.

"Umm we can come with you or?" Noctis trailed off, shifting his weigh and crossing his arms over his chest.

"If you will excuse my bluntness my Lady, you appear quite fatigued after the efforts of comforting the men in that room. I was going to suggest that you get some rest, and Noctis that you watch over her. I will come get you with news of food should Aranea and I's search turn up successful, or when Cor and the others arrive." Lunafreya shrugged to try to tell Ignis that she was not offended by his words, nodding at Noctis.

"Aren't you exhausted too? It's really late." He countered.

"As stated I wish to accompany Aranea to find something I can fashion into a meal. And I do wish to thumb through the notes these scientists have; as unsettled as I am about the things we saw…"

"And everyone else?" Noctis asked. Lunafreya's brows lifted,

"Now that you mention the others, I'm a bit surprised that Crowe did not accompany us." Her Shield rarely left her side, and in the company of the Nifleheim addition to their party she was sure the woman would have been even more apprehensive.

"Maybe she was distracted by Fabio." Aranea suggested. "I know I wouldn't have argued with staying behind to watch that glistening chest." She added, tapping a finger on her chin. "Well now that you talked about food I'm starved. And this bar in my pocket isn't filling. I think I'd rather eat a stick." She gave the royals a wave and began to walk off, Ignis looking quickly between her and the royal pair.

"See you in a bit man, but if you guys get tired come rest too, okay?" Ignis nodded his head and walked quickly to catch up to Aranea, leaving Lunafreya and Noctis in the dark building.

"Think there's a light?" he asked, looking up overhead. The building seemed crude and rushed, and while the cots of the bunks looked horribly uncomfortable, they were better than a floor for the night.

"Looks like they focused all of the bases's power on the external lights." Lunafreya answered. "They usually do that." She added after a moment, squinting her eyes to try and push back the rising fear. Her pulse was quickening, and she took a slow deep breath to keep her breathing level. She glanced around, the action habitual enough that she gave it no thought, better able to center herself when no voices carried from behind doors, no fingers dug into her arm-

"Luna?" she yelped and jerked back when Noctis's hand closed around her wrist, staring up at him with wide eyes clutching her fist to her chest. Her pupils were dilated, and the muscles stood out on her neck. "Whoa… hey… it's just me…" he tried to reassure her, reaching out a hand but hesitating before touching her.

"Sorry." She apologized, trying to force a smile, but it never touched her eyes. Until their flight from Altissia, the world outside of her bedroom was a place she had only ever seen in the postcards that Noctis would send her tucked in the pages of their notebook, or when they would bring her to heal her people. Those days, those rare days, were a source of joy for her. Until night would settle. She would be brought to a hastily constructed barracks, erected to house her and the soldiers guarding her. Ravus would fight for proper comforts for her when he could, but he wasn't always available to oversee her, often sent out on his own missions across the continent. The buildings were like this one, outposts constructed in a hurry across the land, and the towns and villagers they visited were dictated by the availability of these outposts. She would be given a bunk, often in the center of the room to eliminate even the hope of escape. A night of grinding metal, hissing exhaust, and the impact of boots on stone as MTs would pace along the rows while the humans slept. The dark circles around her eyes growing darker with a night absent of sleep.

Other nights, they would drug her. Sometimes she would quietly comply, if only to keep her night calm. Other nights they would slip it into her food or drink if she had protested. She rubbed at her healing ribs as she tried to blink back the overwhelming memories, recalling just _why_ she was usually compliant with their commands. Noctis's voice helped her drift back to reality, back to the empty room devoid of MTs and soldiers. Devoid of more bruises to match the circles around her eyes.

"I'm all right." She whispered and repeated her words again with more voice.

"Is it the building?" he asked.

"Guess you did get those mind-reading powers you coveted." She managed to joke, smiling at him. "Whenever I would be brought to temper a new outbreak of the blight or aide people victims of this war, we would spend the nights in these barracks." She explained. He took a step towards her and when she didn't flinch he wrapped one arm around her waist,

"Well, if I _am_ reading your mind right I think I know how to cheer you up" Noctis cupped her cheek, thumb brushing the skin beneath her earlobe, trying to give her a smile. He could feel the rigidity of her posture, her knuckles flushed white with her grip on his shirt.

"It's not just… old memories. You helped me escape and it was almost possible to forget what Nifleheim was capable of. Those poor people back there." Her voice trailed into a whisper, a tremor finding its way into her words.

"Lets give you some new memories." He mumbled, brushing fingers against her skin. She sighed, wondering how long the others would be away before coming back for them, and failed to push away the fear of them seeing her wrapped in his arms. She struggled to fight the memories creeping back; an aching body, the sights and smells of blight, infection, and death. Fears of people walking into the barracks threatening to overcome this desire to be in his arms. Of letting him comfort her, give her mind a place of light to go. She stood a little straighter, placing her palms on either side of Noctis' face when he repeated her name, hoping to jar her from the places she was sinking into. She stood on her toes, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. But _godsdamnit_ was she sick of letting the Empire rule her. _I'm done letting them dictate my life, even through memory._ She thought to herself, pressing herself against Noctis, winding her arms around his neck. She moved to meet his lips, and jerked back from him suddenly,

"Oh…" she mumbled, flushing as she tried to temper further reaction. The smell of his breath had caught her off guard, and she huffed a breath through her nose to try and clear the scent. It was acutely acrid, the distinct odor of vomit unmistakable. Lunafreya wished she had mints on her, something often carried for her to help ease her nausea during long travels.

"What's wrong?" Noctis asked, trying to tug her back to him but instead she shook her head, and failed to contain her snicker.

"Your… your breath. Umm… it's quite terrible." She admitted. She met his eyes with a slight smile on her face, and she could feel the heat up to hear ears, expression shifting with sympathy as he slapped his hand over his mouth, his own face glowing red. "Typically when in a base such as this my escort would have mints on them." She admitted, letting out a sound half-scoff, half-laugh. "to think there would be _any_ silver lining to having them around." She added, shaking her head.

"Sorry… umm…. Must be from, y'know… throwing up earlier." Her grin tilted, brows knitting together.

"You were vomiting?" the smell spoke for itself, but she still felt bad. "I may have been able to help"

"Even your light couldn't have helped me," _or Prompto_ , he managed to keep the words to himself, "but it's just some bad breath, I'm sure I've had worse morning breath and you've never argued." He countered, leaning back towards her for a kiss, but she pressed her palm to his mouth, a full laugh breaking through her as she leaned away from him, shaking her head.

"Perhaps in the mornings I am less coherent, but I assure you your breath is quite abhorrent." She answered back. She yelped, jerking her hand back when his tongue darted out to tickle her palm. "Noct!" she chided. He laughed at her reaction, making exaggerated kissing-faces at her as she tried to back away, "stop it!" her manic giggling did little to encourage him to stop, chasing her as she tried to stagger backwards, grabbing her hips and jerking her towards him,

"Making me chase you? That isn't fair!" he pouted, bottom lip quivering. She shook her head at him and wagged a finger,

"Find a mint and perhaps I'll reconsider my position." She insisted.

"I mean, Ignis probably has some in those infinite pockets of his. Probably has our tents in there, a book on how to properly banish bad breath forever, a miracle cure for stubborn princesses who won't give this frog a kiss to turn him back into a prince," he listed off, tapping off his fingers as they unfurled.

"If I kiss you, will you shush?" she asked, quirking a brow.

"One way to find out." He smirked, she rolled her eyes, holding her breath to stand on her toes to give him a quick peck on the lips, falling back to her heels.

"All better? Are you a prince now? Shall I assess myself for warts?"

"That's toads not frogs!"

"Ah, that is true. Hmm… maybe I _should_ kiss you then, I hear if you lick certain frogs it is tantamount to taking certain recreational drugs."

"You sound like a textbook." He laughed, unable to resist teasing her.

"Then perhaps, for this once, I should be a misbehaved student and cave to peer-pressure and try this drug?" she inquired. "But honestly. That breath…" she sighed.

"Hmm…" he mused, and dug into his pocket, letting out an irritated sigh. He checked another, then a third, then after a pause summoned his fishing tackle box. He held up a finger to forestall Lunafreya's question, opening it up and let out a triumphant _ha!_ when he pulled a tin from inside the tackle box, proudly holding up the mints. "Here we go."

"Why do you have mints in your fishing box?" she inquired.

"Long fishing trips I get idle and like to suck on mints." He shrugged, quickly chewing one, then popped several more into his mouth. He winced at the strong taste, remembering just how potent this brand of mints was. He stored his tackle box away, but kept the tin of mints stuffed into a pocket before standing up, "Okay, time to see if I smell less like a dumpster fire." He smirked, she smiled, and didn't pull back when he crashed his lips against hers, arms enfolding her and pressed her firmly against him.

He moaned against her lips, feeling her tongue search for his, and he was all too eager to return the gesture. He was surprised by her eagerness, but like hell if he was going to complain. He too wanted to chase away everything he had seen in this damned base. Have something pleasant for his mind to latch to the next time he was capable of sleep. His right hand found the hem of her shirt, sliding it just beneath and brushed his fingers against the skin of her lower back, the other hand around her shoulders to keep her close to him. Her hands were pulling at the hem of his own shirt, and he felt as desperate as her to feel alive and warm. But her hands stopped midway up his back, one fist balling the shirt and the other pressed firmly against his back.

Noctis drew back from the kiss, his lips finding her neck again. She lolled her head back, letting a sigh escape through her lips. He gave a light suck, and she sighed, a smile pulling her lips at the sensation of his tongue on her skin. She whispered a warning to him not to leave a mark on her neck, but made no gesture to push him away. She gasped when he replied by gently nipping her neck, sucking at the spot again.

"Brat." She whispered,

"I don't hear you complaining." He answered her. She let out a huff of air through her nose, tilting her head and shrugging her shoulder to try and push him away, giggling lightly when he whined and tried to pursue the spot again. "We should see if we can fit on one of these beds," he mumbled, deciding to lightly kiss the other side of her neck, bringing his hand up to trace the spot with his thumb. He gave her no chance to reply, bringing his lips to hers, feeling her mouth part and her tongue seek his. He was more than eager tingo follow her deepen the kiss, moaning against her as both hands moved to her hips and tugging her towards him.

Lunafreya couldn't stop her mind from drifting down from her cloud back to the room they were standing in. Of people telling her to go lie down on that bed. Telling what to eat, what to wear, when to get up. She bit down on her bottom lip for a moment and both hands cupped Noctis's face, clashing her lips against him so roughly she felt Noctis shift. She grasped at his shirt, tugging it up over his head, fingers skimming his skin. _Warm. He's so warm_ she reassured herself; that the hands holding her were not metal gears hidden beneath gloves gripping her wrist as she was instructed it was time to move. _No._ She thought. _I'm… I'm in control. No one is telling me what to do._ And she suspected Noctis wasn't suggesting the bed to tell her to go to sleep.

"I do fully approve of the intent behind your suggestion, but Iyour friends are near and we do not know when they will return." She answered. He whined at her answer, cupping her cheek and she tilted her head into his palm. "I assure you, I miss lying with you as well." She tried to insist. Fearful of disrupting her moment with him she bit back the fact that she had yet to erase the image of those people in those beds from her mind's eye.

"They think you're sleeping… if anything they'll have Ignis text me to try and not wake you up." He offered. She bit down on her bottom lip, and Noctis brought both of his hands to her hips tugging her closer to him and lightly grinding against her.

"Does the door lock?" she inquired, gripping his clothing. She was still unsure, her words coming in little more than a whisper, but she tried to grasp onto the moment and push everything else away. Noctis smirked, kissing her quickly and looking over his shoulder at the door. Their arms slid off of each other, Lunafreya's hands grasping her arms after she released his shirt. Noctis gazed at the door, curling his hip when he couldn't identify a lock. After a few more moments he remembered the keypad on the outside, and nodded, turning back towards Lunafreya,

"They keypad, remember?" She rolled her eyes and nodded, mentally kicking herself. Of course the damn door locked. A part of her had assumed the locks that always surrounded her were merely to keep _her_ inside, but why wouldn't the Empire lock every door that contained their property? Noctis approached her and she stepped to meet him partway. She gave a cursory glance around the room to assess for windows, and while it would mean an uncomfortably hot morning, she was glad not to notice any.

Noctis came up behind her, arms sliding around her waist, one hand sliding between her legs teasing her through the fabric of her pants. The rigidity in her shoulders grew slack and she sighed, leaning back into his embrace as she unlocked her knees. His breath against her ear chased away memories of hissing exhaust, his voice whispering _I love you_ was louder than Caligo's threats, his hands were gentle, fingers dancing below the rim of her bruises, chasing away the fists. His fingers traced slowly down her skin as his hands drifted to the hem of her shirt while the other taunted her with threats of untampered desire. She opened her mouth to whisper his name, sighing instead when he began to sway gently side to side, a hand pressing her against him as he leaned down to bring his lips back to her neck, and she gasped when she realized how sensitive she felt.

"You know, my fingers can probably do a better job releasing your tension without pants." He whispered to her. His tone misled her for a moment before she realized his words, jerking forward and spinning around, slapping his arm,

"Noct!" she chided, getting a cocky grin and wiggling brow in reply. His expression blanked for a moment when the phone in his pocket chimed, taking a quick glance at the screen to see a text

[Iggy] We found the storage for food, there are many a supply we can-

The rest of the message would only be readable if he opened it, but he could surmise the rest and shoved his phone back into his pocket. He felt it vibrate again, and imagine the list of inventory Ignis would be listing to him.

"Where were we?"

"You were behaving like a horny toad." She replied. "Perhaps I _do_ need to check myself for warts." She commented, scanning her fingers and flipping her hands back and forth.

"Well, there's really only one remedy to that." He answered. Lunafreya was tempted to try to come up with some terrible pun involving the word blue, but he moved to fast and his lips worked too well against hers for sense to retain its hold. The mint on his tongue had chased away his breath, and she had become more than eager to taste him, and perhaps more than just his tongue. His hands had begun to tug at the bottom of her shirt again and she was happy to arch her back towards him, pressing her hips against his, his intentions all too clear with the pressure against her.

A rap against the steel door jerked them apart, the couple parting with Lunafreya hastily adjusting her top, Noctis dropping himself onto the nearest bed with his knees bent in an attempt to hide the erection tenting his pants.

"Noctis, my Lady, I do apologize," Ignis's voice came into the room, echoing off the stone walls. "I hope I am not distressing your rest right as you find it, but I want to ask Noctis for his assistance." He continued, his expression neutral as he looked at the pair of crimson-cheeked royals, the pair grateful for the darkness in the room making their complexions difficult to ascertain.

"Uh, sure. Yeah. We were just talking a bit. Let me finish helping Luna get settled, I'll meet you outside in a minute." Noctis answered, hoping his voice didn't' sound as gravely to Ignis as it did to his own ears. The advisor nodded, the door slamming shut behind its own weight, Noctis dropping his head back against the pillows and tried to imagine taking a cold shower with Gladiolus laughing at him to chase away thoughts of being in said shower with Lunafreya.

"I do think it prudent I find sleep." Said woman remarked, the small bunk creaking as she sat down on the edge of it next to him. "You help your friends, I will be all right." She reassured him, swallowing back the threat of a racing pulse. She could handle being in a locked room alone.

"Here…" he pulled his phone out, holding it out to her. "Push this to turn it on, the passcode is your birthday…" he blushed when admitting it. "push the contact button, then push Iggy, and push call, and it'll call Ignis's phone. In case you need to reach me." He explained. She stared oddly at the phone, never having used one before. Noctis chewed his bottom lip, and went through the explanation on more time before getting a curt nod from Lunafreya. She sat next to him, resisting the urge to kiss him knowing it would do little to help his current state. But after a few moments Noctis had collected himself enough to stand, the blush finally faded from his cheeks. "I'm not far, call me if you need me, okay?" he asked her.

"I will call you rather than have you return to find me somehow clinging to the ceiling like a panicked gecko." She assured, holding up her palm. Noctis chuckled, bending down for a quick kiss,

"We'll have to make up for this next opportunity."

"Is that a promise?" she asked with a smirk that was far too tempting. _Not fair._ He complained to himself.

"Promise"

* * *

So to clarify the note at the beginning it was specifically everything involving the Lunoct fluff. I kept questioning the appropraiteness of it, their reactions, the realism of it all. It took forever to get a scene written that I was content with. So shout-out to Radiklement for bearing with me asking for help 80 times with the same damn scene!


	23. Lionheart

This chapter also proved very difficult to write. I hope you enjoy the result of my efforts!

* * *

"Sounds like someone figured out how to disable those horns." Noctis commented when he stepped outside, realizing the blaring klaxon was no longer sounding. "Gladio must have punched something… So, I assume you guys found something?" Noctis asked, flinching as the heavy steel door slammed shut behind him and he winced knowing he had likely startled Lunafreya. Despite her reassurances he knew she would be on edge sleeping in that room alone. His eyes lingered on the door for a moment longer and turning back to the voice talking to him,

"Plenty of rations, even some fresh food." Aranea remarked. "Heard you guys mention this guy can cook, let's see if you can live up to the reputation. Pretty excited to eat something more exciting than an MRE." She clapped Ignis on the shoulder, who shifted his glasses back up his nose.

"I shall try." He answered, a light pink touching his cheekbones. "Come on, there's more than just food in there, we'll need everyone to pack up the Regalia in the morning but at the least I would like some assistance in making inventory of it all." Noctis nodded, sure that Ignis alone would be far more organized than with his help, but didn't want to make his friend do all the work. They walked past several identical buildings,

"How can you even tell where it was? Everything looks the same." Noctis asked.

"Second building down, one to the left." Ignis answered. "I simply counted Noct."

"And here I was thinking you had memorized the entire layout. Disappointed." Aranea tisked, shaking her head.

"Oh." He scratched at his ear, feeling a bit foolish. They typed the code into the keypad outside the door once they reached the building, Ignis again remarking about how foolish it is to use a universal code but grateful that it was making their lives easier. They opened the door to reveal a storage room. Inside was a combination of supplies; the MREs, cans and jars of food, ammunition boxes, Nifleheim uniforms, boots, metal parts, toolboxes, and other miscellaneous office supplies. "Uh… this looks like far too much… _stuff_ for four people, and a dozen MTs." Noctis remarked. _I wonder if they were feeding those three people back there._ He wondered. The longer he stared the more he realized what was in here. What medical supplies weren't in the building from hell were stashed in here. Needles, infusion supplies, bags of fluids, bandages.

"My thoughts exactly." Ignis answered back. "There must either be more MTs and soldiers out on some mission, or holed up in one of these buildings." Noctis felt goosebumps roll down his arms, glancing behind him and searching the darkness for any signs of movement. The only sounds echoing in the darkness were the hum of the lights casting a red glow on the base and the buzz of insects.

"Shit! Luna!" Noctis cursed, but it was Aranea who gripped his arm, keeping him in place and he had to restrain the urge to twist her wrist.

"Slow down, we wouldn't have left her alone if we thought she was in danger." She explained. "If there's others around they're hiding, or out on some mission and won't be back till morning. Either way let the girl sleep." Noctis stared at her, the two only breaking eye contact when Ignis cleared his throat.

"I agree with my counterpart here. I do feel the Lady Lunafreya is safe."

"She's the most wanted person in Lucis, they probably want _her_ even more than they want _me."_ Noctis countered, fingers flexing and bouncing on one leg. He looked around the darkness again, counting the buildings he could see. He glanced up at the guard towers, eyes lingering as he watched for any shadow crossing through the dim light within.

"If it will help you settle then let us get back to the barracks." Ignis suggested. "Now do they have some form of kitchen?" Ignis inquired, stepping into the storage to go through the MREs, pulling some out to assess the variety available.

"Bigger bases having a dining hall, one this sized probably just stuck a makeshift kitchen in a back room of the barracks." Aranea replied. She was given a monosyllabic noise of reply, and rolled her eyes before joining the pair of men going through the supplies. Ignis had quickly abandoned the shelves with the MREs to check the other available items. Large cans of broth, a poor variety of vegetables, boxes of powdered milk, canned fruit, jars of peanut butter. There was a large bag of oranges, the only fresh food in the room.

"This will tax my culinary abilities to their limits." He sighed, reading the back of one of the cans and curling his lip at the amount of sodium on the label. He pushed his glasses back up his nose and continued to pick through the food.

"Got some anak jerky here." Noctis called, surprised to find the package tucked amongst the MREs.

"Good source of protein when on foot." Aranea explained.

"I may be able to fashion something together." Ignis explained. "Though it seems like a lot of effort when we have these MREs available." He continued.

"I was promised a home-cooked meal. Even if every ingredient comes from a can or a package." Aranea quipped. Ignis hesitated for a moment, and shrugged.

"I would not argue with an activity to occupy myself." Ignis admitted. "Though do not expect this meal to be of highest quality. And with the limited variety Noctis please do eat your vegetables." Ignis sighed. Noctis shrugged, picking through the MREs, figuring he could find one palatable if Ignis was so insistent on a meal laden with green things. The trio tied off the ends of the pants of Nifleheim uniforms to create makeshift bags, stuffing them with MREs, cans, and packages before heading back to the barracks where Lunafreya had been left.

The sound of the steel door slamming shut behind them jolted the Princess awake, sitting up strait with her hair kinked and bangs standing at odd angles. She leapt to her feet, letting out a long breath when her senses caught up with her upon Noctis's hasty apology. She pushed the heel of her hand to her forehead, trying to till away the grogginess.

"Is everything all right?" she inquired, knitting her brows together as they approached.

"Yeah we got some food, Aranea said there would be a kitchen here." Noctis answered her, giving her a quick hug, letting go when he realized how tense she felt in his arms.

"I could do with something to eat." Lunafreya answered, cutting off any questions hesitating on his tongue. He gave her a small smile and a nod. Happy for the company a distraction Lunafreya was eager to suggest going with everyone into the kitchen.

"Well time to strut your stuff!" Aranea cheered, pushing lightly on the back of Ignis's shoulder. Noctis restrained a chuckle when he saw a light smirk on Ignis's face. The man put together a meal for everyone with the provisions available, Aranea leaning against the cabinets making witty comments. Lunafreya and Noctis both sat down together on the floor with their backs to the wall, talking with Ignis and their new companion.

"Man, how the hell did you manage something so delicious made out of Nif canned food?" Gladiolus asked after swallowing a large bite of food.

"Says the man who eats cup-noodle. I don't think you are picky when it comes to soups." Ignis replied.

"Just because I like the _glory_ that is cup-noodle doesn't mean I don't have a refined palate."

"You'd eat anything. You're a human garbage disposal." Prompto quipped, getting a punch on the arm. He hissed, rubbing his bicep and continued talking, "Probably tastes so good from letting it cook for over an hour got all the flavorifics stewing together." Prompto added. "I'm pretty sure we could give Ignis a jar of salt and a moldy loaf of bread and he's like, turn it into magical fried salt-crusted wheat squares or something."

"Gotta hand it to you there sexy glasses,-"

"Ignis" he interrupted Aranea

"You definitely know your way around a kitchen. Turned Nif food into something edible!" she glanced around the table and pointed to Lunafreya, "hey skinny, you need to eat some more." Said woman looked up, catching her expression and quickly took a bite of food. The broth had been seasoned with Nifleheim spices, and the soup filled with the vegetables most common to Nifleheim.

"Oh, a bit tired." She answered. She felt Noctis nudge her slightly and she shook her head, taking a bite of bread and swirling her spoon.

"I did make sure to use the vegetable broth, out of the cans available and did not add the meat until after I had set aside a portion for you." Ignis offered. She looked up at him with this, then back down to her bowl. She managed a small smile and nodded, taking a bite of the stew.

"It's quite good. Thank you Ignis." He nodded his head to her,

"Oh, you're a veggie huh?" Aranea shrugged, and Lunafreya chose not to clarify. "Guess that makes sense." At this, she looked up at the silver haired woman. "What's with the look?"

"Just…" she hesitated but realized she had already begun her statement and it was too late to return to silence. "I didn't expect someone from Nifleheim to react so… casually." A hand fluttered over her stomach and she lightly rubbed it, fingers curling to grip her shirt as a phantom pain shot across her midsection. "Most people call me picky."

"You got enough there?" Aranea asked, quirking a brow. But Ignis gestured to one of the two pots he had brought out from the barracks,

"I made sure to set aside an adequate amount for her." Lunafreya couldn't fight the blush that came to her cheeks that he had put so much consideration into following her dietary preference.

"Hey if Noct hates veggies and Iggy can work around that, why not meat?" Prompto added. She blushed again, a shy smile reappearing on her face. She resumed eating her food when conversation picked back up again about subjects that did not include her.

"Wonder if our friends are hungry." Aranea mused, thumbing to the building where scientists and soldier were still holed up.

"You aren't thinking of _feeding_ those monsters?"

"Huh? Oh _hell_ no!" Aranea held both hands up defensively, "Just wanted to check before-" she paused, clearing her throat, "Oh! How delicious this food is! Man! I want thirds!" she bellowed loudly.

"The patients…" Lunafreya mumbled quietly.

"Oh…" The former Nifleheim woman grimaced. "Think they're in any shape to eat?" she asked, quirking a brow and looking into the room. The group had all sat down together on the ground just outside the building, allowing them to keep an eye on the coded steel doors where they were keeping their prisoners, the disarmed soldier now shoved into the cold room with the scientists. They all agreed sitting on the hard ground was less uncomfortable than the idea of splitting up to eat simply to have the comfort of benches in another part of the base.

"Thoughtful as a Nif." Gladiolus huffed. Aranea rolled her eyes, holding up a middle finger. Gladiolus returned the gesture, shoving a large bite of bread into his mouth.

"How'd you even make freezer-bread taste good?!" Prompto asked, voice quivering slightly. But his question was disregarded, Lunafreya responding to Aranea that the three bedbound individuals were likely not well enough to handle food. She doubted they would recover, and bit down on her lip as she realized how little help she was.

"Hey guys" Noctis interrupted the banter, "Cor just sent me a text. He gathered a bunch of hunters and they should be here within an hour." He explained.

"In the dark?!" Prompto admonished, glancing around the group. "That… that's suicide!"

"These guys hunt daemons every day to make ends meet, pretty sure a whole army of 'em will make it here in one piece." Crowe answered, waving a dismissive hand at him. She grabbed her empty bowl and refilled it, grabbing another piece of grilled bread from the pile and set herself back down beside Lunafreya. The group continued to eat and talk, even Lunafreya managing to eat two full bowls and a piece of bread.

"You should get some sleep, you look like you're about to keel over." Aranea remarked, furrowing her brows at Lunafreya. She was sitting with her legs tucked under her, the circles around her eyes noticeable in the outdoor lights.

"I would prefer to wait until Cor and the others arrive, I fear I would likely feel worse should I lie to sleep only to be roused shortly after." She answered.

"Leave her alone, Nifs have ordered her around enough as it is." Gladiolus snapped, Aranea responding with a glare.

"I'm not ordering anything." She growled, rolling her eyes. "Geeze, you on your period?" Gladiolus began to stand up but dropped himself quickly when each of the group looked up at him, Ignis snapping,

"Sit down Gladio!"

"But she-"

"I do not need people to speak on my behalf." Lunafreya interrupted. "I am capable of making my own decisions. She suggested I sleep, I said no, let us move on." Her tone was low, and everyone stared at her for a few seconds. Gladiolus grumbled, standing up,

"I need to walk off dinner." He mumbled, walking away from the group.

"I apologize for our friend." Ignis offered, but Aranea shook her head,

"Nifs suck, I get it. I promise I'm not secretly planning to shoot you all in your sleep, you're my paychecks until one of us gets sick of the other." She explained.

"He'll calm down eventually he's just…"

"An ass? Bullheaded? Hormonal?"

"I was going to say difficult." Ignis responded to Aranea's list. He moved to start gathering bowls and plates,

"Let me help you wash these." Lunafreya offered, wanting to occupy her hands and thoughts, and to return Ignis's kindess for remembering that she didn't eat meat.

"I was just going to put them in the barracks kitchen and toss them in," he answered. She blushed, biting down on her bottom lip. _Of course he wasn't going to actually wash them. What's the point?_

"Iggy, leave dirty dishes? I think we have an imposter on our hands!" Prompto feigned,

"I keep my own environment clean but have no desire to expend any more energy than necessary in this place." He responded defensively, bidding his friends a moment away and he would return shortly. Prompto joined him, if only so no one would need to walk through this base alone. "I think too I'll go grab those notebooks I saw, maybe they can clue us in on something." He added, thinking back to the binders and notebooks he saw messily strewn about the makeshift desk in the " _hospital"_ room.

Ignis was sitting on the ground with a notebook in his lap and three more to his left. Aranea was pacing around, too restless to sit, a notebook in her hands as well. Gladiolus had stayed behind to keep guard over the Nifleheimers, Noctis texting back and forth between his shield when both he and Prompto had agreed they were content to allow Ignis and Aranea to be in charge of reading these research notes. _I have no intention of giving myself nightmare fuel for the next six months_ he had explained, and was relieved when no one argued with him. Crowe had coaxed Lunafreya into sitting down and getting some rest after she had refused an offer to go lie down in the barracks.

"Anything interesting?" Prompto asked, wincing in anticipation of the answer.

"These are research notes." Ignis answered. "I don't think this is talking about the three people we saw, but they were conducting experiments on the blight. Its unclear if they intentionally infected people, or merely began tests on people already infected." He stated so matter-of-factly that Noctis stared at his friend for a moment,

"Is that all? Just some fun little experiments?" Ignis sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. With his glasses obscured Noctis could see the dark circles around the man's eyes, and winced at his statement.

"I am being… delicate, until I understand what I am reading better. I do not wish to leap to conclusions but these notes…" he paused, shaking his head and flipping a page. "They're quite objective. They simply refer to people as _sample_ and a reference number."

"Shit… so they were just torturing those people to learn more about the blight?" he asked.

"I stated I don't wish to leap to conclusions. It's quite unclear. These notes are not well organized, quite the poor excuse for scientists. But they discuss various methods they have tried to slow or halt the spread of the disease. Their methods may be indelicate-"

"Why are you defending the fuckers? These notes prove our point! They were treating those people like they were a fucking petri dish! You think they care about trying to save a Blight victim when they have them shivering and whimpering, covering them in ice? Hacking off limbs then cutting it up in some sick OR?!" Crowe snapped, getting to her feet.

"They absolutely deserve to be brought to justice for how they treated those people. But I think its possible they may have actually been trying to find a cure, or even a treatment." Ignis responded, holding the notebook up to her.

"I don't want to read that shit! I don't care if they _did_ find a cure! You really want to use a cure if it came from… _that_?!" she pointed in the direction of the building with a tremulous finger, balling her fist and slamming it against her thigh.

"Crowe, please." Lunafreya asked. "We have contacted people who can help us arrest these men. Ignis has the research notes to go through. Let him finish reading so we can better understand these circumstances." She suggested.

"But… fuck!" she cursed. She sighed, rubbing roughly at her face. "Fine." She stated shortly. "But if those notes don't say they found those people in that condition I'll make sure they're shitting their teeth for a month!" She swore.

"And I won't stop you." Ignis answered.

"Nor I." Lunafreya added quietly. Noctis watched the argument and let out a light chuckle at the mental image of a Nif being on the receiving end of Crowe's threat.

"I'll hold them for you." He added.

"I'll be on the other arm." Prompto gave a thumbs up, earning a wink from Crowe who finally sat back down.

Cor arrived with his entourage of hunters an hour and a quarter later. They were welcomed into the base, all moving quickly for the safety the red lights and hastily shutting the gate behind them, one man fumbling for a padlock, cursing aloud when he couldn't find one.

"They keypad everything." Noctis interrupted, pointing to the device beside the gate. The hunter groaned and murmured a quiet thank you before jogging to catch up with the rest of the hunters who were being led towards the barracks where Cor would catch them to discuss their plans after he had a talk with the Prince. Many were limping, some holding limbs close to them, others supported by comrades. Their clothing were stained with blood and smears of what only the gods knew. One man was slung over the shoulders of another hunter, and the sight had the hair on Noctis's arms standing on end, neck tingling with goosebumps.

"So. Our Prince is all grown up and taking down Imperial bases." Cor's deep voice jarred his focus from the hunters, turning to meet the Immortal's gaze. The man crossed his arms, looking at Noctis, "The King didn't give me many details."

"I didn't give him many myself." He answered shortly. Lunafreya was standing a pair of steps closer to the gate than him. He stepped forward, lightly gasping her wrist and tugging her towards him. She walked backwards, eyes transfixed in the darkness. "Umm.. Come on," he directed. "Let's go to that barracks and I'll bring you up to speed." He gestured at Cor and started walking, his friends already several meters ahead. Lunafreya's focus had moved from the gate to the hunters, her expression tight. She stepped up to walk beside Noctis, Crowe taking her usual position as rear guard. She threw a glance over her shoulder, dismissing the sounds in the distance as nothing but her own fears getting to her.

"I have things to tell you as well. I hope these lights have enough power to keep them running all night."

"Daemons?" Noctis asked, lifting a brow.

"We lost two men. Couldn't even retrieve the bodies. Dave wants to look for the dog tags in the morning, but doing it at the time would have been suicide." Cor answered, Noctis staring at the man waiting for the punchline to the joke. The memories of the bombs and giants pacing the perimeter of their haven, the burns on Crowe and Lunafreya glowed on the backs of his eyelids when he blinked. _What the hell could have attacked an army led by the Immortal?_ He pondered.

"I can aid the injured." Lunafreya's voice rose, Cor turning over his shoulder to look at her and giving her a nod before looking back towards his men. She bit down on her lip and turned her gaze over to Noctis. She shifted her hand within his to twine their fingers, giving his hand a squeeze, and he gripped her tighter in answer. They completed the walk to the barracks in silence. Ignis was outside sitting with Prompto who appeared to be doubled over again several meters away Noctis allowed himself a moment to wonder if Aranea was with Gladiolus back at the room where the Nifs were locked up. _They'd probably kill each other._ His train of thought was interrupted when Cor stopped suddenly a few paces past the doorway.

Lunafreya stepped around Cor, Noctis brushing past the man with a mumbled apology and stood just behind her with Crowe trying not to bump into the immortal and incur the wrath she was all too familiar with. She had pissed the man off more than once, but her apprehension about the Immortal was interrupted by Lunafreya's gasp, and she exchanged a concerned glance with Noctis. The Oracle stared into the room, squinting back the images of the survivors of that burned village lying in a hospital wing, of the three victims she prayed over for hours. The distinct rubber-like odor invaded her nose as her eyes tracked over the exposed skin of these hunters. Dark red tissue edged with black, acrid burnt hair was coming from the pair whose faces were obscured with discolored skin and missing large tufts of hair from their peeling scalps. The scent was invasive. Skin, hair, clothes. Everything bore singe marks and her nose threatened to send her reeling into old memories.

She took in a breath and let it out slowly through her nose, willing the tension away from her limbs before she walked further into the room. Noctis tracked her movements, and Cor stepped up beside him as the pair watched her kneel next to a bunk and begin to speak to the man lying there.

"Doesn't waste a second, does she?" Cor asked. Noctis let the question hang in the air for a moment, and the man continued. "So what did you find out here that let me get two of my hunters killed?" Cor asked, turning to Noctis. His tone was sharp, fingertips digging into his upper arms.

"I wasn't expecting my dad to send you guys here in the middle of the night." He tried to start, and when Cor took a step towards him immediately dropped that tactic, eyes widening and averting his gaze. "We came to the base hoping they'd have some useful information." He started, _and get a little revenge._ He tried to hurry through what they've seen, and why he immediately called his father. Cor stared at him, lips thin, a tall silent figure and Noctis began to question everything they'd done since they first located Aranea's downed airship. He looked back up at Cor, a memory playing in the back of his mind staring up at his father as he tried to explain _I didn't do it!_ for whatever mess he had made.

"So you saw firsthand the shit the Nifs do. Why we were at war with them." Cor ground out. "We should shoot those men and put them out of their misery." Noctis flinched, hating his almost instant agreement. He looked back over at Lunafreya who was moving down the line of bunks, praying by each one.

"We should burn this whole base to the ground." He answered back, dropping his voice. Cor grunted, turning his attention back to the men. He watched Lunafreya walking, bunk by bunk, pressing her forehead and whispering her prayers. Noctis stood beside the Immortal, pondering calling his father to better bring him up to speed, and justify himself.

"So show me this room-of-horrors." Noctis nearly flinched at the sudden declaration, nodding and straightening himself.

"Yeah. Let me just tell Luna." He excused himself, catching her before she could move on to the next hunter and explained his intentions. She frowned, hesitating for a moment before nodding and reassuring them she would be safe in Crowe's hands. He disliked the idea of parting from her, and could see in the stiff way she held herself, the white in her knuckles as she gripped her own arms that he was unlikely to get a parting hug from her and instead they exchanged nods before he turned to walk back towards Cor. "We'll be back." He remarked to Crowe who nodded, punching Noctis on the arm before heading towards her charge.

"It's in another building. Gladio is guarding it since we locked the assholes up in a room." Noctis explained. Cor followed him after a curt nod and shouting for five of the hunters to follow them. Noctis could feel the hair on his arms prickling, and left to lead the way. _Godsdamn I feel like I'm about to be grounded._ He through to himself. Gladiolus was sitting just outside the door as the building came into view, thumbing away at his phone. He looked up at the sound of footsteps his great sword appearing in his hand in a flash of blue, and vanishing almost as quickly before he stood rigid.

"Cor! Welcome sir." Gladiolus greeted.

"Where's Aranea?" Noctis asked, quirking a brow when he saw his Shield was alone.

"With Ignis." He answered. "Time to give these Nifs a taste of Lucian justice?" He asked, turning his attention back to the Immortal.

"Let's see what dragged us out here in the dead of night." Cor answered. Gladiolus nodded, turning into the room and almost coughing on the smell.

"I see why you stood outside." A hunter remarked, slapping a hand over his nose.

"Shit." Cor mumbled, looking around the room. His eyes flicked quickly between the three beds, his own hand covering his nose and mouth as his brows scrunched together. He exhaled sharply through his nose and cursed, shaking his head. The men with him were cursing and coughing, each going around to look over the bedridden figures.

"Are they dead?" One of them asked. No one answered him, Cor making a round of the room and looking at the three figures. He shook his head, tapping at his hip where his gun was holstered, shaking his head.

"No." he answered simply. "What the hell is going on in here?" he asked.

"They all have the blight." Noctis answered.

"Fuck!" A hunter cursed, echoed by his comrades. One lifted his fist, stepping towards Noctis who flinched away and brought up his own arm but the hunter howled in pain as Gladiolus gripped his wrist, twisting his arm behind his back and dropping him to the floor, letting out a hard grunt when the air was forced out of his lungs.

"Were you really about to hit the Prince of Insomnia?" he asked, incredulous.

"Ugh…" he coughed, wheezing for breath as Gladiolus repeated his question. He screamed as further strain was put on his arm, "shit, Cor! Help me out here!" Noctis took a step back from the pair, the hunter thrashing beneath Gladiolus's grip.

"You dug your own hole Rogers." Cor answered shortly, his tone a sharp reminder of why Noctis was always warned never to cross the Immortal. The other hunters were staring at their comrade on the ground, bearing sneers or lifted brows and stepping back to watch the man struggle with the Shield, sure to give the Prince adequate berth. "But he had a point." Cor continued, shifting his tense gaze to Noctis, "You bring us into a room with the blight? We didn't suffer enough with those daemons getting to your sorry ass?"

"Luna used her light." Noctis responded hastily, clearing his voice to shift his defensive tone, "It wasn't enough to cure them… but I don't think she would have let us lead you here if she thought they were still contagious." He supplied as a peace offering. "They're too far gone to fix them. But I think she must have contained it somehow." He was mostly thinking aloud; the actual threat of Blight had never struck him. But she hadn't approached him or the others to heal them after their previous excursion into this room, nor stopped anyone from coming back.

"So what the hell is going on in this room?" Cor asked.

"Blight experiments. Iggy was reading about them. He was still going through things when you guys showed up." Noctis answered. "Looking for a cure. Supposedly. But…" he gestured at the three beds, "I don't think they were being altruistic." Cor grunted at this explanation, curling a lip.

"Where's the damn Nifs?" Cor asked. "And let go Gladiolus before you break his damn arm. We need every body we can get." He added, looking down at Gladiolus who was still pinning Rogers to the floor. The Shield gave him one final push, grinning at Roger's curses before getting to his own feet and stepping to keep himself between the hunter and Noctis. Rogers sat up, rolling his shoulder and reaching out for someone to help him stand, but everyone steadfast avoided his gaze. He cursed, and started climbing to his feet mumbling about haunting everyone after he died from the Blight or being eaten by a daemon because of his bum shoulder and getting the middle finger and a thin lipped glare from Cor when he asked what he planned to do if his shoulder didn't feel normal enough to fight on his next hunt.

"There in that room," Noctis answered his query and pointed at a door when Cor cleared his throat to repeat his question. He recited the door code when Cor reached the door, the man typing the code in quickly and threw the door open hard enough for it to impact the wall. A chorus of cursing came from the room with the sound of objects falling to the floor. Cor stepped inside briefly and had the Niflheimer soldier by the collar of his uniform, dragging him from the room and buried his knee into his chest causing him to fall to the floor. "Care to explain what the _fuck_ we're looking at?"

"Fucking Lucians…" the man coughed, clutching his chest with one arm, using the other to try and hold himself up. "Look at them you idiots. We're trying to help, find a _cure_ for the blight!" he shouted. Noctis lifted a skeptical brow, glancing between him and Cor.

"Search the rest of the base." Cor ordered, looking up to his hunters who quickly began to file out of the room. Rogers was the last to leave, locking eyes with Gladiolus after brushing brusquely past Noctis who lifted a middle finger at the hunter. Cor caught this and pointed at the hunter, "fuck off Rogers you're in a deep enough hole as it is." The hunter shifted the weight on his feet, dodging Cor's glare and turned to follow the others.

"I should have hit him again." Gladiolus sneered as the door shut behind Rogers.

"Saved my ass man." Noctis stated, realizing he had never thanked his shield.

"I dunno, some ladies think black eyes are sexy as hell. Could have dialed up your man-level a few ticks." He laughed, lightly punching Noctis on the shoulder.

"Make Luna jealous as all the girls look my way? Sounds like a good way to end up with a second black eye." He laughed.

"I don't think the Oracle has a violent bone in her body. She'd get Crowe to do it for her."

"Reasons to pay attention to your surroundings." Cor interrupted, "Did I teach you nothing?" Noctis cleared his throat, smile fading from his face and watched as he turned his attention back to the soldier rubbing his sternum on the floor. He tried to ask again about the experiments, but the soldier was steadfast with his answer that they were seeking a cure to the blight, and he could confirm it with his researchers. The three scientists were all cowering in the cold room, and Noctis wondered if the Immortal's reputation preceded him even with the Nifs. As soon as the man dragged them from the room the scientists were a bit more forthcoming with information, but peppered it with technical terms and they danced around many of the questions to circle back to the same defense. _We're trying to find a cure._

"Leonis, Sir?" One of the hunters had appeared at the doorway, the three Lucians turning towards him with Gladiolus instinctively stepping in front of Noctis half expecting Rogers to return and be an idiot, but instead it was one of the others who hastily continued without prompt. "We inspected the base like you asked. We found something… there's a second barracks, this one full of prisoners. There were a handful of the damn puppets inside so we blew their circuit boards to shrapnel." Cor cursed, and Noctis winced, wondering what they were going to be walking into.

"You think this is related?" Gladiolus asked, turning to Noctis and Cor.

"I'd be more surprised if it _isn't_. Guess we have an idea where these guys came from," Noctis thumbed around the room. The smell hit him again, as if looking at the source reminded his brain to stop filtering it out. He wrinkled his nose. "Should we go check it out?" he asked, the need to leave this room hitting him suddenly, chills running down his back with a sudden sense of claustrophobia. _What if Luna's anxiety just made her forget about the Blight?_ He tried to banish the thought, but his attention was drawn sharply back to Cor.

"Put these assholes back in that room and watch the door Gladiolus, Noctis come with me." Cor answered. He was all-too-eager to agree, though his Shield seemed far less enthused with his own task. "And maybe bring Lady Lunafreya back here to ease the suffering of the wretched souls." He added, noting how they shifted in their beds. They had yet to resume moaning, and Noticed noticed the shift in his posture as he spoke about them, his brow furrowing as his arms uncrossed and dropped to his sides.

"Umm yeah. Gladio, she still has my phone. Can you send her a text?" His shield nodded and he gave his friend a parting thumbs-up before following Cor out of the room and joining the hunter outside to lead them to the second barracks. He winced when Cor asked why he hadn't conducted a full search of the base before calling him here, and he struggled with silence for several moments as he debated whether the question was rhetorical or not, settling on the excuse they were simply too shocked by the state of the Blight victims.

After inspecting the second barracks with Cor Noctis went to gather Ignis and brought him and Aranea with their research notes. The pair both looked tense, Ignis's hair fussed as he ran a hand through it for what Noctis assumed must have been the tenth time. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and sighed, agreeing to follow him.

"I know I wouldn't argue with blowing up a few MTs. Any left?" Aranea asked, all-too happy to close the notebook she had been reading.

"I would not argue myself with deconstructing those abominations." Ignis snarled, curling his lip.

"What the hell was in those notes?"


	24. Dr Lorran's Report

I wanted to try something different here, and rather than exposit the Nif reports with clunky dialogue, why not show the reader one of the reports that have Ignis and Aranea so agitated. I hope you enjoyed this alternative format and that I was successful in making the reader as uncomfortable as the characters themselves who are reading these reports. Please let me know what you think!

* * *

 _A Study of Blight  
By Dorcas Lorran, MD, Parasitologist. _

_-Place acknowledgements here prior to publication._

 _Preface:  
Per Nifleheim regulation medical notes must contain a preface of all shorthand used.  
WBC: white blood count. Tells the number of white blood cells  
RBC: Red blood count. Tells the number of red blood cells  
Hgb/Hct: Hemoglobin, Hematocrit. Oxygen binding component in blood  
CMP: Complete Metabolic Profile. List of electrolytes and other non-cellular blood components.  
WNL: Within normal limits  
This author will refrain from other shorthand for ease of comprehension_

 _Full breakdown of referenced blood tests can be found Hematology, Modern Vampires. by Collin Arbor MD._

 _This log for patients 11-30_

 _History from volume 1:  
Patient 1: Deceased, Unknown  
Patient 2: Deceased, Hemorrhage  
Patient 3: Deceased, Unknown  
Patient 4: Deceased, Unknown  
Patient 5: Deceased, Anemia  
Patient 6: Deceased, Suicide  
Patient 7: Deceased, Traumatic Brain Injury  
Patient 8: Deceased, Unknown  
Patient 9: Deceased, Unknown  
Patient 10: Deceased, Respiratory Failure_

 _21 April 756_

 _Patient 11 in Stage 1 of Blight. Blood tests show elevated WBC 21.9, low RBC 3.6, low Hct 29.8, low Hgb 9.8 typical for the onset of late-state Blight. Patient may have preexsisting condition of the blood but history is unknown and patient proves to be a poor historian. Prior to infection all CBC results normal for this patient. CMP remains WNL. No signs of active bleeding. Tests of urine and feces have proved negative as sources for blood, and bilirubin levels remain normal. Unknown at this time what is the cause of this abnormality. Patient will have bone marrow study to assess for normal bone marrow._

 _Patient 12 is in Stage 2 of Blight with onset of external symptoms. Patient has begun to have pallor, fever, body aches. Necrosis noted to left fourth and fifth fingers. Fingers to be amputated and patient assessed for cessation of spread of disease._

 _Patient 13 in Stage 1 of blight. Patient placed on aggressive cryotherapy to asses effect of low body temperature on spread of disease. All blood tests normal except for microscopic evaluation of blood show evidence of parasites._

 _22 April 756_

 _Patient 11 has taken unexpected turn in condition. WBC increased 28.1, test re-run to confirm results. RBC, Hgb,Hct continue to decline to 1.9, 17.2, 5.1. New onset of low platelet count. Patient high_ _rist_ _risk for bleeding. Patient placed on supplemental oxygen and vasopressor therapy to improve blood circulation to the heart. Continues to show no evidence of bleeding. Bone marrow biopsy result has revealed normal marrow tissue. Unknown cause for severe destruction of RBC. Patient has begun to show blackening of tissues. Amputation not recommended due to risk of patient death.  
-Speculation: does this parasite eat the red blood cells in a manner that does not produce the typical byproducts? Further blood studies needed to assess for byproducts of this metabolic process. _

_Patient 12_

 _Patient day 1 post-op from three centimeters above left wrist joint per recommendations of Dr. Arbor after consultation. Further tests performed on hand. Results below. Patient continues with chills. Pain medication administered to assess if greater comfort aids in patient self-healing. Started on broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy. Antiparasitic medication administered as well though prognosis is poor as Blight has responded poorly in past. Blood tests show abnormalities for progression into later stages of blight. Samples taken and placed into cryo.  
_

 _Patient 13  
Core body temperature down to 35.1 degrees. Patient placed on sedatives. Cyanosis (blue discoloration – add to preface) observed. Blood tests show no evidence of the chances seen in patients 1-12.  
-Speculation, the Blight parasite can only thrive at temperatures greater than 36.  
Tissue samples taken for pathology to assess for Blight parasite in tissues._

 _-Dorcas Lorran, MD_

 _23 April 756_

 _Patient 11  
Deceased. Cause, Anemia. Unusual to lose patient in Stage 1 of Blight. (Perhaps reassessment of Stage Categorizations are needed?) Blood tests show RBC, Hgb, Hct, not compatible with life. [ref 2 Arbor] Body to autopsy. Blood placed in cryo.  
Summary of Autopsy (-elaborate in separate chapter)  
Cardiac function ceased due to poor oxygenation. Blackened areas noted. Further study needed for Blight vs: Necrosis but trademark weblike features not observed.  
Bone Marrow study showed patient in early stages of blood cancer, likely cause of such rapid decline of blood cells. Further study on blood cancer patients infected with blight needed. Full autopsy results as well as all medical information to be given to Dr. Arbor . (-apply for grant for further study of Blight with blood cancers)  
Microscope exams show normal volume of parasite levels for early-stage Blight. More reason to suspect Blight may attack blood cells. Patient's bone marrow could not produce more blood cells on pace with, or faster than, the destruction. [reference 2 here to Dr. Arbor's book] Still unknown why breakdown of blood cells left no byproduct. Still unknown why abnormal red blood cells were not seen.  
Liver: No sign of damage, no sign of working harder than usual, no signs of red cell breakdown in liver.  
Spleen: Much smaller than average [ref 3 Arbor], potentially related to the blood cancer. Further study will confirm diagnosis.  
Patient 11 to be placed in cryo in morgue in the event of further studies. Good subject for further blood studies. (inform Dr. Arbor) _

_Patient 12:  
Residual limb of left arm beginning with the black web-like appearance now half-way to help. Rapid progress has been seen before in patients. Spread noted form surgical site. ?  
-Speculation: Wounds trigger the disease to get worse. If the parasite likes to eat blood cells like speculated above, perhaps the rush of blood to heal a wound causes a high concentration of the parasite?  
Left arm to be amputated at shoulder in the event the limb was not severed at a low enough location. While under sedation small wounds to be made, and large laceration to be made on the top of the left foot. Will not be stitched to allow for observation of the disease's reaction to the need to heal the area. Perhaps reach out to nurses who work with Dr. Arbor and specialize in wounds, obtain reports of Blight patients with various wounds. (Patient 24 known to have diabetic wounds. Patient 29 known to have a wound-related-injury. Good subjects. Will discuss in volume 3.)  
Patients blood count continues to decline, remains in Stage 2 per current parameters._

 _Patient 13:  
Remains in Stage 1  
Patient remains sedated. Core temperature 35.0. Parasite level minimally elevated from previous test. Too soon for conclusions. Will continue to monitor. Other blood tests show abnormalities expected with hypothermia. Chilled intravenous hydration and nutrition initiated. [perhaps Patient 17 will be good subject for nutritional analysis and effect on Blight.]_

 _25 April 756_

 _Patient 14  
Former Lucian Military service member. Good candidate for Costlemark Tower trials. In good health, all blood tests WNL, vital signs WNL, no major medical history. Costlemark Tower summarized here, but for full details read report by Officer Godfrey Saeva  
Costlemark tower: opens at night with unusually high concentration of daemons. Link between tower and the daemons? Patient 14 to be sent in to investigate in exchange for release from custody.  
[Note: Patients 2 and 7 autopsy performed after retrieval of bodies from Costlemark Tower confirm presence of Blight parasites in blood]  
Speculation: A link between night, daemons, and Blight. Tower related to origin of disease?  
_

 _Patient 12  
Left arm amputation appears to be successful. No blackened tissue at surgical site. Incisions made to left foot showing signs of the black web-like features. Sutured incision to anterior aspect of foot well approximated 5 sutures in place scant bloody drainage. Open wound to top of food wound base 50% granulation tissue, and already 50% black tissue. Samples taken to assess necrosis and parasite load. Amputation of foot to be done if blood levels stable. Patient currently with post-op anemia 2.1/6.8/21.2. Blood type A- to be transfused with blood taken from patient 5, positive for Blight parasite. Will assess if transfusion transitions patient into Stage 3 of disease. _

_Patient 13  
Showing signs of organ damage, full lab reports in medical record, core temperature 35.0, pulse 40, respirations 30 but decreased to 20 with slight increase in sedation. Blight parasite levels in blood continue to rise at much slower rate than other patients. Requesting report from Dr. Arbor of studies conducted in colder provinces of Nifleheim and Tenebrae from Dr. Franco director of Epidemological studies. [if Lucis would be cooperative with sharing their own studies I could compare the studies of warm and cold regions in Lucis]_

 _28 April 756_

 _Patient 14  
Survived night in Costlemark Tower. Lost three MTs retrieving. Showing stage 1 Blight symptoms. Parasitic load low. Unknown if abnormal blood levels due to traumatic injuries, or early-onset metabolism of blood components. Will continue to monitor. Left leg amputated due to severe compound fracture and splintering. Tissue samples taken for pathology. Right leg amputated for presence of bite mark, leg to be dissected to assess bite for signs of Blight. Upon waking from anesthesia patient was combative. Sedated patient. No blackening at surgical wound sites. Patient has multiple abrasions to head and torso with some webbing noted. Will require continued monitoring. _

_Patient 12  
Deceased. Shortly after blood transfusion parasite load levels significantly rose. Blood tests done every 2 hours showed parasite levels doubling every 4 hours. Rapid breakdown of blood cells led to poor oxygenation and cessation. Body prepared for extensive dissection. _

_Patient 13  
Deceased. Body unable to tolerate prolonged hypothermia. Parasite load remained in Stage 1 levels. Blood cell levels also within Stage 1 parameters.  
Stipulation—extreme cold may provide clue to controlling Blight. __(But then why was_ _In conflict with common knowledge of Blight being widespread in all provinces. Further study needed._

 _1 May 756  
Word from Gralea to stay put in base. All Costlemark Research to be put on hold. Godfrey Saeva very displeased. But Blight research will continue. (strike this from official report)_

 _Patient 14  
Right arm amputated when superficial wounds began webbing. Spread of the black webbing noted from previous amputation sites. Arm sent to lab for dissection.  
Results from BLE dissections:  
Parasites permeate into each type of tissue. Blood clots noted in capillary tissue (speculation- this is the source of the black webbing?) parasite levels highest in blood vessels but also found in subcutaneous tissue, muscle tissues, and bone tissues.  
Patient to have 1 pint of blood removed, blood tests to be performed every hour, splenectomy scheduled for reasons stated below._

 _Patient 12 and 13  
Autopsy results concur with above report on patient 14.  
Patient 12: Extreme concentrations of Parasite observed in spleen, perhaps release of this storage to replenish lost blood volume attributes to advancement of disease with the parasites hiding in the healthy blood cells. Further research needed on spleens. Spleen of patient 11 not sufficiently studied. Will need new subject with a blood cancer diagnosis will be needed. Message to be sent to Nifleheim in the morning with compiled report._

 _2 May 756_

 _Gralea sent message for total radio silence. Damnit. Will continue work with patient 14. Patients 15 and 16 research on hold until travel and radio bans lifted._

 _Patient 14  
Black webbing continues to spread across torso. Has spread from arm amputation site, up the neck, and wrapping around the scalp. Hair falling out in places where scalp has turned black. Closer observations of amputated limbs show patches of hairlessness along black-webbing. Skin sample taken from patient and artificially grown to assess parasite load in skin tissue if removed from patient. _

_3 May 756  
Blackness spreading significally across patient. In places skin has begun to slough away from the patient. Artificial hydration and nutrition started as patient is losing a significant amount of lymphatic fluid. Blood tests comparable with dehydration [full report in medical record] Central line placed for administration of artificial nutrition. 15:45 endoscopy performed. Lesions noted in esophagus, and inside stomach. High risk for esophageal swelling. Will continue to monitor progress for necessity of tracheostomy, but wish to assess if black webbing appears in throat._

 _4 May 756  
Patient with decreased responsiveness. Black webbing has spread to over 50% of skin surface area, 10% skin loss. Continues to lose large volumes of fluids. Edema [swelling- note in beginning to clarify term?] noted to remaining limb. Foul odor noted from former wound sites. Curious development. Most Blight patients terminate in Stage 3 of the disease. Patient is now advancing to what I will now state is Stage 4. Blood tests show severe anemia, but patient is producing adequate volumes of new blood cells to remain compatible with life. 18:30 performed bone marrow biopsy. Site of biopsy already blackened. Results show black tissue inside the marrow. 21:30 [why the hell am I still on duty? I should be paid overtime for this.] bone marrow biopsy performed, this time in left hip. Marrow extracted is healthy. Surprising finding. Very resilient patient. Perhaps something in Costlemark has a new strain of Blight, as this one has progressed in a very unusual fashion._

 _5 May 756  
[Well now I know why we were put on lockdowns. Nifleheim has finally captured Lucis.]  
22:00 [another cursed late night. Application for overtime compensation will be filed with Gralea]  
Bans on radio and travel lifted. May resume research_

 _6 May 756  
Patient 14  
Resource proves to be too important to risk death. This is a very different reaction to the Parasite. Blood transfusion performed with artificial blood. Will continue hourly monitoring of blood tests (note to self- stop flip flopping terms of blood test/labs. Find all uses of terms and use one consistently!)  
Arificial blood carries lower risk than traditional transfusion [ref 4 Arbor] and zero risk of Blight exposure. Must keep this new strain of Parasite pure. Blood placed in cryo, other samples being studied extensively. With travel ban lifted will send blood samples to Gralea.  
Blood samples with positive Parasite presence placed in dish with compatible blood type also positive with Parasite to see if the Parasite is compatible with various strains.  
Artificial skin graphs placed over sloughed areas. High risk of rejection, steroids not being used due to risk of worsening Parasite infection.  
Full report from dissection of amputated limbs compiled in patient's medical record [include these in chapter referencing autopsies and dissections of amputated tissues]_

 _7 May 756  
Day off to celebrate Nifleheim's victory. Insomnian Prince Noctis reported dead in the attack on Altissia._

 _8 May 756  
My request to have blood samples from the Oracle Lunafreya sent to me have been denied. They gave samples to Dr. Arbor but not to me. Perhaps I need to send more detailed reports to justify sending me the samples._

 _15 May 756  
Patient 14  
A combination of artificial nutrition, hydration, patient sedation, regular blood transfusions sustaining patient life. Patient sedated due to agitation during periods of lucidity. Skin graphs have been holding but difficult to keep up. Patient at 15% total surface area skin loss. TPN recipe altered to compensate for abnormal protein levels. Will continue routine monitoring._

 _Patient 22  
Bone marrow transplant from patient 14 is proving effective. Patient has begun producing blood cells at a pace to keep with the disease, even with the presence of the familiar stain of this Parasite. Perhaps this patient's bone marrow holds the key to surviving this Blight._

 _Patient 23  
Blood transfusion performed, and as expected patient has contracted Blight. Currently in Stage 1. Blood tests typical for Stage 1. Will synthesize blood from patient 14 for transfusion. Supplement as necessary so patient 23 will survive until transfusion ready. Cannot drain 14 and risk death._

 _(I don't need the Oracle's blood. I can cure this on my own. I'm making discoveries to even make Dr. Arbor blush and in a fraction of the timeline! I re-submitted an application for a further grant from Gralea. They have to see my potential.)_


	25. Memories

I apologize but this chapter is a bit shorter than average. However, the next chapter is already in progress. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Ignis threw the report down, a headache settling behind his eyes. His stomach felt hot, and an acidic taste lingered on the back of his throat. He grabbed his glasses, slipping them off his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, squinting hard as he tried to banish the mental images. He heard his name, looking up to meet Noctis's gaze.

"The answer to what happened to those men we came upon" Ignis replied to his friend's query. "And do not read these notes to ascertain those answers for yourself. I would advise Cor Leonus to check the name badges for a doctor Lorran. And gather these notes. I believe your father should be made aware of their contents." Noctis reached down for the notebook and picked it up, knitting his brows as he stared at the cover and ignoring Aranea repeating Ignis's warning about not wanting to read what it contained.

"Noctis?" Lunafreya's voice drew his attention, Ignis reaching out to pull the notebook from his hands.

"Hey you look like you're about to pass out…" Aranea commented.

"I'm all right." She replied, shaking hear head. Noctis furrowed his brow, stepping up to meet her. "I'm all right." She repeated. "I… did the best I could. I merely eased their suffering." She sighed, shaking her head. "I am not nearly as fatigued as I appear. When Gladiolus sent me a message he had also mentioned that a second barracks with people was located?" she asked. Noctis nodded at her, then quickly reached out to place his hands atop her shoulders,

"Whoa whoa. Where you going?"

"To see if there are more people in need of aid." She insisted.

"Umm we checked it out, everyone inside seemed to be okay." He offered.

"Well based on what I just read, a second opinion wouldn't hurt." Aranea stated, everyone turning their attention to her. "Look, the Empire was up to some really… _fucked up_ things here. May be worth a closer inspection of these people." She added, crossing her arms in front of her chest taking on a defensive tone. "I know you don't trust me-"

"I agree with Miss Aranea."

"Oh ick, don't call me that. Makes me sound like a gradeschool teacher." She immediately countered, shaking her head.

"Call her Nif." Gladiolus quipped. The woman flinched, turning around sharply,

"Where the hell did you come from?!" she snapped, taking a few steps back.

"Gladiolus that is quite enough!" Ignis snapped. "We have enough enemies that I do not wish to gain another."

"She's a damn Nif!" He bellowed back. "I've been dealing with you pal-ing around with her-"

"I'm _right here_." Aranea snapped back, bending down to pick up the notebook she had been reading, reaching out and snatching the one from Noctis's grip, stepping towards the broad man and shoved them both at him, "you think I want to ally myself with people capable of _this_?! Read these! I want to put a stop to this as badly as any of _you_!" She started to stalk off, raising a middle finger when Gladiolus tried to ask where the hell she thought she was going.

"Gladio… will you just, back down. A little?" Noctis asked.

"I ask too Gladiolus, that you do try to give her a chance." Lunafreya added. "As you recall, I too was a citizen under the rule of Nifleheim yet you do not constantly question myself or my motives." She continued. Gladiolus broke eye contact, mumbling under his breath.

"Fine. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. But the moment she gives me any reason to doubt-"

"All of us on are on edge as it is man." Ignis interrupted. "Perhaps she was right, and you need to read these notebooks to regain some perspective as to who our real enemies are. Now I do believe the Lady has asked us to assess the men of the barracks, I wish to join her in the event aid is needed. You sit here and read." He insisted.

"I'm not leaving Noct unguarded."

"Clear your head first."

"What are you, my father?" He snarled.

"I am your friend and merely trying to help you see reason. You need to calm yourself." Gladiolus sighed, throwing open the cover of the first notebook, walking to burn off his agitated energy. Lunafreya let Noctis lead her towards the second barracks, Ignis following right behind.

"Hey, where's Prompto?" Noctis inquired.

"Walking around with some of the hunters. He felt too restless standing around so he's helping them inspect every last inch of the place as Cor instructed." Noctis nodded and glanced around wondering if he would catch a glimpse of them walking around. He had always admired the Immortal, and seeing how a ragtag team of hunters could be drawn together and follow his instructions like they were his soldiers reminded him of how well disciplined the Crownsguard were. _I wonder if it would have made a difference if he was in Insomnia._ He mused. He had had his ass kicked by the man on more than one occasion and even Gladiolus had several scars from training with him. Noctis lifted his arm, pointing to a building with a pair of hunters standing on either side of the door, telling Lunafreya it was that one.

One of the hunters typed in the code and opened the door to allow them inside. It took a few moments of blinking to adjust to the dim lighting. Like the room he had tried to sleep in, bunks were laid in tight rows, each containing a mean. The room smelled like burnt plastic and metal, Noctis letting a huff out his nose and curling his lip a bit. Lunafreya stepped passed him, pausing to give him a small smile and a nod before she started to walk past the first row of the Nifleheimer prisoners. They were all in a similar red jumpsuit with blocky numbers just below the black collar. Below those were iron-on number patches in a double digit. Noctis noticed Ignis tensing up beside him, and glanced at his friend.

"Hey you okay?"

"The notebook… simply referred to the men as patient dash, then a double-digit number. It must be these numbers they ironed on to the jumpers. The things they were doing… were they planning on doing it to so many people?" his voice was low, and Noctis reached out to squeeze his shoulder.

"Hey, we got here and stopped it, right?" he tried to offer but Ignis shook his head.

"Plenty still suffered. Is this what the Blight drove people to?" he asked. "So desperate for a cure." He sighed. Noctis opened his mouth, but found no words to offer his friend. He had no words to offer to _himself_. The pair watched Lunafreya walk down the rows of men, smiles appearing on some of their faces. She paused to talk to someone who had called her name, but they didn't see any light in her hands. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he noted there were two hunters flanking a man who was sitting in the back corner of the room. He appeared to have had his hands and feet bound together.

"I didn't' know they found a human solider in here. I thought they were all MTs?" He asked, turning to Ignis who only had a shrug to offer in reply. Feeling awkward standing by the door Noctis stepped up to join Lunafreya, and began to wonder where these prisoners came from. She saw his approach, turning her head to him. "Hey," he nodded.

"This is Ty," she introduced, gesturing to the man she was speaking to. He had blonde hair, freckles dotting his face and the sides of his neck.

"Prince Noctis?" the man's brows lifted. "Umm Ty is short for Tiberius." He offered when he turned his attention back to Lunafreya.

"I have a cousin with that name." she mused. Noctis tried to control the sneer on his face at how quickly the man disregarded him. _I wonder what Aldercapt must tell them about the Lucians_ he mused, assuming the man to be Niflheimer with his fair complexion and hair.

"We had heard you both died in the fall of Insomnia." He turned and looked back up at Lunafreya, "I can't believe you're alive! I had thought the Blight would take over for sure."

"Do not lose hope, for light still shines on our star." She smiled down at him.

"Did they bring all of you here all the way from Nifleheim?" Noctis asked after a moment's pause. The man glanced between the Prince and Oracle, his attention kept on her. He explained that all of them had been transported from a prison near the mountains. They had all signed up for a work detail, in hopes of just changing the monotony of daily prison life. She gave the man a blessing and continued to walk through the rows, pausing here or there. As they drew closer to the corner of the room something began to itch in the back of Noctis's memory when he looked at the face of the man bound between the hunters.

Lunafreya's gasp and jerking flinch jarred that itch into a slap. Images burst into the forefront of his mind. Lunafreya curled in on herself, hands gripping her head, her agonized cries and grunts punctuated by a laughing and cursing voice. The sense of helplessness, guilt, rage, all boiled to the surface again.

"You!" he bellowed, snapping the attention of all in the room. He walked up to the bound man and stared down at him. The years may have added lines to his face, highlighting his once blonde hair in place with gray. But he would never forget that face, the way he smirked at Noctis _so you think you're tough shit, huh?_ His mocking tone before his question would be punctuated by Lunafreya's pained cries as the man beat her senseless. Noctis balled his fist, and Lunafreya's hand clamped down around his wrist.

"Noct." Her voice trembled as she said his name and he turned to her, trying to force back the rage that swelled within him when he laid eyes on that old face. He took in a deep breath and struggled to let it out slowly, to control the urge to repay every blow the soldier had given Lunafreya. He wanted to know why, of every damned human solider in Nifleheim, did it have to be _him_. Corporal Nettmann.

"Holy shit, you actually survived? Even the Lucian radio stations were saying you were dead." He remarked, brows quirking up and shifting slightly, fingers scratching at his uniform's pants. Noctis curled his lip, taking a step forward to keep himself between the Nifleheimer and Lunafreya. "You still look like a wet noodle." He added. "And you are radiant as ever, my Lady."

"You don't look so hot yourself." Noctis quipped back. "Black eye might make you look like more of a man."

"That didn't go over well last time, now did it?" Nettmann taunted.

"You won't _touch_ her." He balled his fist, feeling an impulse to pay back every bruise, abrasion, contusion; every pain he gave to Lunafreya. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see her with her brows knit, pupils dilated. She tightened her grip and gave a light tug, taking a step closer to him.

"Don't." She pleaded. "I… Let's get some air." Lunafreya suggested, the rise and fall of her chest growing more rapid. "Ignis, if you would not mind, please take a walk through these final rows and bring to my attention any would may be in need of my light."

"Of course." He answered with a bow of his head and furrowed his brow. She nodded back, failing to manage the smile she wanted to force. She walked quickly up the row, her hands tightly gripped before her. She listened for Noctis's footsteps behind her, searching for the sound of a second set. She reached for the door handle, hardly registering the voice of someone telling her he had to punch the code in first as her first attempt to pull the handle down failed, waiting until she got the okay to try a second time and pushed the door open with more force than necessary. Noctis was close behind her, but she turned around the corner of the building, out of the sight of the two men guarding the door.

"Luna?" Noctis asked, reaching for her. But she spun around, head turning to search for any more people. More wandering hunters, more of Noctis's friends, more MTs, more soldiers. Her body ached with phantom pain, her racing heart threatening to drown out his voice calling her name. Her throat began to burn with her rapid breaths, shoulders aching as she gasped for air. She felt his hands on her shoulders and flinched, quickly reaching out to him so he wouldn't pull away from her. A sob broke through her breathing, and she stepped towards him to bury her face against his chest. "I got you, I 'm here." He assured her.

Noctis ran a hand down her back, feeling how the sobs wracked her entire body. He tilted his head to press his lips to the crown of her head, arms wound tight around her. Her fingers gripped his shirt, pulling on it so his collar pressed uncomfortably against the back of his neck. He squinted, trying to will away the memories. Will away the self-hatred that came with it. _I did this to her. I did it then, and I did it now._ He bit down on his bottom lip, wondering why the hell he couldn't have controlled himself better.

 _Pain exploded in his fist, shooting through his arm until it apexed at his shoulder and a ringing numbness ran back down into his fingertips. Pain in his chest, then an impact against his back. He looked up at the soldier who wiped a hand under his bleeding nose, shaking his fist staring down at the twelve-year-old Noctis who was holding his trembling fist to his chest, staring back at him expecting another blow at any moment. He glanced over at Lunafreya, and promised himself to be brave during the impending beating. It was worth it. Worth it for her. His friend. He had found several bruises on her shoulder, and it didn't take a doctor to know what caused it._

 _He had charged from her room, ignoring her reassurances that she was okay, that it didn't hurt. But he wouldn't just ignore those bruises when he saw on her arm. He had pleaded with her to tell him what happened, who did it. After a few refusals he asked if it was that asshole who had kicked Pryna a few mornings ago. Her slight flinch goaded him, and he asked again with more determination and she nodded, admitting that it was the same soldier who had kicked Pryna. The one who had escorted them to their respective rooms the night before. So he ran through the hall, found the man, and punched him. Landing the hit to the side of his nose despite the difference in height, the soldier caught completely off guard._

 _"So you think you're tough shit huh?" he asked, sniffing back some blood. "Well I'll wipe that cocky little smirk off your face." He declared. Noctis lifted his chin, keeping eyes locked on him. His brows furrowed when he turned away, and walked towards Lunafreya._

 _"N-No!" he called out. "Hit me!" he called out. "Fight me!" he insisted, and screamed when he saw Lunafreya lift an arm to try and deflect the first blow. It knocked her off her feet with a grunt, and once on the ground the soldier motioned to kick her but Noctis clenched his fist around his wrist. The man spun around, pushing Noctis to the ground again with ease._

 _"Touch me again and I'll make it twice as bad. Every time you touch me," he paused, turning back to Lunafreya who's eyes were wide, and limbs trembling. She curled up to try and protect her stomach when he kicked, the blow striking near her hip. She tried to restrain it, to control her voice, but the cry burst from her throat. "I'll add another minute to this." He spoke evenly, like he was simply stating the time._

 _"No! hit me!" he tried to insist, getting up to his feet. He stared at Lunafreya, stepping towards the sight as he fought with what to do. He couldn't let him do this. He couldn't let this happen to her. But the man was stronger than him, stronger than her. He began to sob, the south pathetic to how own ears. "Luna! I'm sorry!" he shouted._ Oh gods what did I do? _And he wept. He watched as the man kicked her, bent to punch her. She tried to protect her stomach, her face. Curled as small as she could make herself. Her soft voice was razor sharp, yelping and grunting. She panted between cries, but soon her voice grew quiet, and the soldier stood tall again._

 _"That should teach you. Boy." He sneered, looking down to give Lunafreya one last kick, striking her in the back before turning away from her. Noctis was frozen in place, fearful that he might accidently brush the soldier if he moved and it would bring this wrath down upon her once more. He tried to walk but his legs gave out._

 _"Luna… I… I…" he stammered, crawling towards her as his body failed to pick him up off the floor. "I'm sorry…" he wept, kneeling beside her. He placed a hand carefully on her arm. She initially flinched, curling tighter in on herself but couldn't keep up the position any longer. Her limbs were slack, and her face held a distant appearance._

 _"Noct…?"_

 _"I'm sorry." He cried, placing his hand on her arm again. "I… I need to. Let's get… let's go back to your room. Or the library. You like it there." He suggested. She groaned, trying to shift, but cried out when she tried to sit herself up._

 _"You didn't do this Noct." She managed between gasping breaths. She tried again, managing to get herself to sit up with tremulous arms. She tried to move but ended up laying back down again, squinting her eyes. Bruising were forming in patchwork across her arm s, and he didn't want to picture where else they were blooming. The side of her face was beginning to swell and darken, and he squinted to fight back more tears, sniffling. "I need to rest before. Just rest." She stated. Her fingers were curled, and she brought her arms up over her chest, hugging them to herself._

 _"I got you… I'm here…" he offered, slipping an arm under her knees and behind her shoulders. She was taller than him, but he was determined. He got up to his knees, then crouching standing on the balls of his feet. She tried to hook her arms around his neck but it simply hurt too much to lift her arm that high. "It's okay, I got you." He repeated. He stood with a grunt, but stood tall, and carried his dear friend back to her room wondering if she would ever forgive him for this._

The pair pushed back the memories, Noctis running his hand along her back while the other hugged her close around the shoulders. As her sobs slowed her breath began to stutter, and she pulled back from him shaking her head,

"I feel quite pathetic." She remarked, forcing a chuckle. Noctis furrowed his brow and frowned. "I saw him around the Manor from time to time, I don't know why it affected me so in there." She continued after holding up a hand to halt Noctis from trying to reassure her. Her eyes flickered for a bare moment before meeting his gaze.

"I never saw him after that visit." Noctis remarked, shifting his weight to his other leg and gripping her shoulder tighter. Lunafreya brought her hands together and began to knit her fingers together, hesitating before responding.

"Caligo was…. Displeased that there was such a long delay in being able to bring me before the people and reassigned him as well as demoting his military rank." She explained, pausing between some words to chose them carefully.

"Surprised he didn't give him a medal and a promotion." Noctis huffed. "What do you say we go lie down?" he suggested, noting the darkness around her eyes.

"I don't think I can sleep here. I'll lie awake all night." She admitted after a hesitation, her brow knit together. "I suppose this shall be quite a long night of pacing, or staring up at a ceiling." She pressed her lips together and quirked an apologetic smile.

"Those bunks do suck. The ground is probably more comfortable." Noctis admitted. "Hey, I have an idea." He suggested, "You still have my phone, right?" Lunafreya looked down and reached into a pocket, pulling it out and holding it out to him, nodding. He grabbed it and stared for a moment before a smile eased the lines in his forehead. "Perfect!"

"What?" She asked, tilting her head and quirking a brow.

"I have enough service on my phone we could watch a movie. Let's go pull the mattresses off a few bunks and go lay down and watch movies until morning or until we pass out." He suggested.

"That sounds far better than letting my own thoughts drive me to madness while I stare at a wall." She chuckled. Noctis's eyes crinkled as he smiled, tucking his phone into his pocket and wrapping his arms around her for several moments. A response came to his mind about other ways to drive her to madness, but had the sense to keep it locked within. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, holding her tighter for a moment before stepping back and taking her hand.

"Come on, let's go lie down." He suggested, tugging lightly to get her to try and move. She held up a finger to forestall him, pressing the back of a hand beneath her nose and gave a sniffle, running her thumbs under each eye and the heel of her hand across her cheeks to wipe away the remains of her tears. Her breath stuttered for a moment, and Noctis squeezed her hand again.

"I'll be all right." She reassured him, her voice slightly hoarse. She cleared her throat, taking a step closer to him and stood on her toes to kiss him, and after another light tug she walked beside him to watch movies to pass the night.

Lunafreya found her joints too stiff to lie down comfortably. Passing time with a movie had helped put her at ease, but it had finished and the quiet settled back in. Noctis had fallen asleep beside her on the pile of thin mattresses they had laid out, and she sighed and suppressed the urge to wake him. The rest of their retinue had come into the barracks as well, including many of the hunters save for those guarding the Nifleheimers, or watching over the former prisoners. People had been coming and going, the activity making it difficult for her to rest. She got up and gave a cursory glance down to Noctis who remained fast asleep, glad that he could find some rest himself.

She walked up to the door and tapped in the code, pulling on the heavy door taking care not to let it slam behind her. Not that it mattered with how often the others were letting it fall shut. She turned and was surprised to see Prompto sitting on the ground leaning against the opposite building, head down as he looked down at his camera. She hesitated, wondering if he had come out here to be alone. _If he truly wanted to be alone he would have perhaps wandered a bit further away._ She mused. Remembering the time he had comforted her with pictures from his camera and walked up to him.

"Prompto?" she inquired. "Couldn't sleep either I take it?" He looked up at her with a slight flinch and quickly offered her a smile.

"Oh hey Luna. Yeah, not exactly a palace of unicorns and rainbows. This place gives me the creeps." He mocked an exaggerated shudder, scrunching his expression.

"I find the same for myself. Mind if I join you? Noctis is asleep and I find myself in need of company."

"Yeah, sure. Take a seat." He pat beside him and she sat down, folding her hands in her lap.

"Any good photos?" she inquired, a blush coming to her cheeks as she recalled the one he had taken of her and Noctis. He nodded, smiling again and leaned slightly, holding the camera out.

"Lots of them on the way to where we left the car. We passed a herd of anaks grazing near some garulas. Took a bunch!" he thumbed through the photos, and paused at another one, his excitement clear in his tone as he pointed to where a newborn anak was grazing near a garula calf, and neither baby's parent tried to attack.

"That's quite adorable." His excitement was contagious, and she found herself leaning in to better see the photos as he went through them and talked about the ones that were his favorites.

"The guys sometimes get uncomfortable when I start taking too many pictures of them, but I want pictures of all of us. Y'know? It's nice to have them." Her smile faltered for a moment, sighing lightly and nodding.

"Noctis would send me photos, and I would cherish them." She flushed, her brows furrowed slightly as she bit down on her lip.

"See, you get it!" he sat back up, the awkward position making it difficult to continue leaning over. "I can't wait till morning and get out of here. I tried to take a few pictures of this base, because I dunno. Maybe they could be useful or something. But they all just wig me out."

"I too cannot wait to leave this place. Were it not for the odd abundance of daemons I would have suggested braving the darkness to return to the car and make camp." She dropped her gaze to her feet, lifting a hand to massage the skin just behind her shoulder with a phantom tingle beginning to itch.

"We could make a mad dash for it, I'll take a thousand pictures so the flash keeps daemons away and we can sleep like babies." He suggested, nudging her lightly with his elbow. She laughed at the mental imagine of him running through a pack of bombs flicking his camera as they all ran away, and then began to laugh harder at the thought that they would be camera shy.

"Catch them all in their underwear."

"Have some giant whine _I don't even have my makeup on!_ " Prompto lifted his voice an octave, fluttering a hand over his face and shaking his head.

"I hate pictures of myself! Ick, delete that one!" Lunafreya added, trying to add a gravely tone to her voice. Prompto joined Lunafreya's laughter, and _gods_ did it feel good. They slowly regained control of themselves, sighing and smiling. "What time is it? I haven't bothered to look."

"Uh… three AM. Ew… a man needs his beauty sleep. I'm gonna have bags under my eyes all day tomorrow." He complained.

"I'll likely match you." She reassured him.

"Hey let's tell Gladio that we fought some extra-stealthy MTs that snuck past everyone. We both got clocked right in the face. Twice, 'cause you know, _both_ eyes will look like we have shiners, but fought them off! Heroes of the day! We saved everyone!" He puffed out his chest, holding a fist in the air. She chuckled, shaking her head.

"Because this twiggy Oracle is known for her fighting prowess, I am sure that this tale will be accepted at face value."

"Okay, more realistic then. How about we got in a slap fight?"

"Now that one sounds like something he would believe. While we pass this night as a pair of Insomniacs, why don't you show me more of your photos?" she inquired. Prompto met her gaze for a moment, and she wondered if her tone was off. "You're quite good at it," she added.

"Yeah, sure." He agreed. "Here I'll go back to right before we left Insomnia."

"Do you have any of the city? I… I've never seen it." she flushed a bit, feeling embarrassed that she shared such a detail. Prompto frowned at her for a bare moment but then nodded, pressing several buttons and going through several pictures before finding the ones from Insomnia. Prompto gave her a virtual tour of the places he had on his camera, starting with his apartment. It was small, but he preferred it. He had a shot of the four guys at a table enjoying some beers the night before they were parting for Altissia.

"Don't get mad at Noct, this was Gladio's idea for a bachelor party!" Prompto said defensively when the next picture made it clear that they were at a strip club, a mostly naked woman sitting in Gladiolus's lap, his hands gripping the sides of chair he sitting on, a broad grin on his face and his eyes clearly locked on the woman's bare breasts. Noctis was beside him, and even in the dim lighting of the photograph the red coating his face was obvious. His hand was tightly clamped around the pint glass he was chugging beer out of, eyes wide and partially crossed, brows knit tightly together. On Gladiolus's other side sat Ignis, legs crossed sipping at a beer himself, eyes trained on the woman giving the broad man a lap dance.

"Noct looks like he wants to crawl out of his own skin." Lunafreya commented from her brief glance at the photo, Prompto having flicked past it, holding himself tight. "I'm not about to go wake him up to slap him if that's what you're fearing." She remarked, trying to get him to ease up. She couldn't help but ponder if his discomfort was the photo, or the situation. Then a mental image of a naked dark-haired woman sitting atop his lap invaded her mind, and a blush crossed her own cheeks as a spark of jealousy ignited in her heart.

"Yeah like I said it was all Gladio's idea. I promise Noct didn't get a dance." Prompto added with a nervous smile. She trusted Noctis, and accepted Prompto's explanation without probing further, trying to distract from her blush by asking him to continue showing her the pictures. There were more of Insomnia; of Noctis's favorite fishing spot, birds at a park near Prompto's apartment, the odd ethereal appearance of the world through the lens of Regis's wall, one of the Citadel as they were pulling away from it the day they left for Altissia. Lunafreya's smile fell, brows lifting slightly as she wished she could have seen Insomnia before the fall. To have Noctis lead her around his home, bring her to his favorite places, sit beside him as he fished at his favorite spot. "Hard to think most of this might be gone." Prompto spoke in a low tone, a slight tremor to his voice. He gripped his camera tighter, staring past his camera, beyond the ground between his feet. Lunafreya lifted her hand, resting it atop his shoulder and squeezed. He flinched, turning his head to meet her gaze, frowning a bit at her. "Sorry. Didn't mean to get all mopey on you."

"Do not apologize for your emotions." She reassured him. "You lost your home, that is a pain not easily soothed."

"Yeah. Noct told me about when the Nifs attacked Tenebrae. You guys were just kids." She bit her lip slightly, maintaining her posture as she allowed the memories to rise before pushing them back down again.

"I believe that we all shall feel better away from these reds lights." She stated after a long pause. Her intent had not been to halt Prompto from speaking about his pain regarding Insomnia, but she had enough of tears and bitter thoughts, of old fears and images swarming in her mind. A thick silence hung between them, and her thumbs kneaded against her hands as she thought of a way to break it. "Did you take any pictures of chocobos when we were at that ranch?" His smile returned, eyes fixated on his camera once more, cheerfully explaining he had taken plenty of pictures. And again they were able to pass the time talking about photos and chocobos, the young man succeeding in getting Lunafreya to talk about her favorite books and the movie that she had watched with Noctis. The night passed, the pair eventually forcing themselves to attempt to lie down again when fatigue threatened to claim them.

Noctis shoved his phone back into his pocket, running a hand through his hair and releasing a long irritated sigh. He had called his father and given a more detailed explanation of everything that had happened and clarifying what to do with everyone and everything involved. The call took up a near an hour and a half, yet he still felt like he needed to get more off his mind, decisions feeling too haphazard. Cor had packed up all of the notebooks, binders, and loose pieces of paper from what he dubbed _the hospital of horrors,_ as well as the prisoner roster from the second barracks. Trucks were being brought from a nearby hunter hub to loot any available supplies from the base lest anything go to waste. The Nifleheimers who had run the base were all bound and being escorted by several of Cor's hunters, the former prisoners being brought to the collection of buildings, generously called a town, to be watched over by a member of the Crownsguard named Monica Elshatt.

"Hope the prisoners know how to behave. I sure wouldn't want to be someone who pisses that woman off." Gladiolus huffed after Noctis had run through everything with the retinue. "Anyone trained by my dad is someone who's bad side you never want to know." He flinched at the reference, expression souring and lip curling. He tapped at his thigh with his fist, his eyes looking up to stare into the base. "I'm ready to get the hell out of here." He remarked.

"I too am feeling like I need to shower for a week after reading that notebook and could do with a change of scenery." Ignis remarked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Aranea was standing beside him with her arms crossed, a shiver coursing through her,

"Ugh… why remind me of that. I think I'm gonna barf." She groaned. "How's the Oracle doing? She doesn't know when to quit, does she?" she added. "I mean, I gotta admit I admire her stubbornness. But doesn't she know a lost cause when she sees one?" she asked.

"If she thinks she can help someone she will. But I'll go check on her." Noctis answered. Lunafreya had wanted to offer her light to the three blight victims one more time. She wanted to ease their pain for the transport to a quarantine hospital five kilometers outside of Lestallum, one hunter agreeing to stay behind with the three men until a pair of trucks from the city could transport them there. Crowe had gone with her, an ether in her pocket provided by Ignis after Lunafreya had refused to take it with her, insisting that she didn't want them spending more of their curatives on her.

Noctis typed the code into the door, tugging it open and peeking inside and quickly backing out again, a hand pressed under his nose. _Holy shit I forgot about that._ He swallowed hard, then second time, and a third to keep the bile in the back of his throat and the protein bar he had eaten for breakfast in his stomach. He took a deep breath and grabbed the collar of his tee-shirt to hold over his nose before stepping back inside, meeting Crowe's gaze and giving a middle finger at her expression.

"Luna?" he called. She was kneeling near the center of the room, her head bowed, voice in a low murmur. She whispered a few more words before turning to him. She nodded, pushing her palms against her knees to stand, wincing at the momentary ache from the prolonged period of time spent kneeling. "I don't want to interrupt if you're still trying to help."

"I was just offering a final prayer. I've done all I can." She cast a glance at the men, fearing that the most critical of the three would not survive transport but had done all she could for him, and that their options were limited.

"You did good. They're all sleeping now." Crowe offered, closing the distance and resting a hand on Lunafreya's shoulder. She nodded at her Shield and let out a sigh, eyes downcast. Noctis suggested that they leave to meet up with the others and put this godsforsaken place behind them.

"I just wish we could burn it to the ground." Noctis complained once they started walking away. But with the prisoners and blight victims all waiting transport they would have to wait for hours just for the pleasure of torching the place and the desire to get the hell away from it was a far stronger urge. They met up with the others and walked together to where they had parked the Regalia.


	26. Blowing Off Steam

Lunafreya lolled her head back against the headrest once she had climbed into the Regalia, the lack of sleep catching up to her. A headache was beginning to settle behind her eyes and she shut them, lightly rubbing her temple. She was grateful Ignis hadn't put the top of the Regalia back yet, as it muffled Gladiolus arguing with Crowe over who was going to ride on the back of the motorcycle with her. It had been decided that they could use Aranea to help take down Deadeye and nearly the entire walk from the base to the car had been spent arguing over whether she was a threat or an asset. She opened her eyes and sat straight when the door beside her pulled open and she looked up to see Aranea's curled lip.

"I'm sick of hearing him yap about me like I'm not here. Scoot over, making the call myself." She declared. Lunafreya shifted over in the seat, turning her head when the other door opened and Noctis scooted in. She lifted her knees as she sat uncomfortably scrunched in the middle seat, trying to give Aranea more room. The front doors opened with Ignis and Prompto each stepping into the car, causing Lunafreya to lift a brow and look at Noctis, but he answered the question before she could ask.

"Ignis figured if he was going to be an ass about who rode with Crowe then it should be him so we don't have to listen to more arguing."

"Will Crowe be able to adequately control the bike with such a large man sitting behind her? I would imagine it would make it quite difficult to balance." She remarked.

"He insisted on driving. Crowe was happy to back down and let him. The drive will help him calm down anyway." Noctis answered her with a shrug. He took note of the darkness rimming her eyes, and how she appeared somehow paler than her norm. "It's a long drive to where Wiz told us Deadeye's lair is. Why don't you try to sleep a little." Lunafreya nodded at this suggestion, closing her eyes and leaning her head back.

The bump from pulling off the paved road onto the dirt pulled her from her brief sleep. She felt a pressure on her right ear and realized that she was leaning against Noctis. She shifted, pulling herself back upright and pressed the back of her fist against her mouth to stifle a yawn, asking if she had slept the entire ride when it appeared that they were parking the Regalia. Noctis answered the affirmative and helped her step out of the car, the rest of the Retinue doing the same.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Eleven." Noctis walked up to Ignis who was staring down at his phone. "You know where we're going?" he asked. Crowe and Gladiolus were pulling up and parking the bike right behind them. Noctis cast a cursory glance at them, sighing when it appeared they were bickering amongst themselves. Ignis described a wooded area with a clearing that hunters had reported seeing the beast retreating to. If they were to enter the grove and wait for Deadeye, they would be able to follow it back to its lair. The pair joined the rest of the retinue, each standing close to their charge.

It only took approximately fifteen minutes of walking before the clearing mentioned by Ignis came into view, and another ten to reach it. Once through the initial trees they were able to get a solid look around them. Large paths of brush had been trampled flat, and the area was devoid of the usual chatter of birds and insects. There was a vague sweetly sour odor in the air that grew stronger as they walked further into the clearing. Despite the sparsity of brush within the clearing, it sat in a small valley surrounded by tree and brush coated cliffs that cast the area in a dusk-like darkness even at noon. Even the distant trees and brush seemed darker than natural.

"See anything?" Prompto asked. Everyone hung silent as they looked around, searching for any sign of the behemoth.

"Not yet." Noctis answered him. Everyone else echoed his negative until Ignis cut in,

"Over there." He pointed. The others tried to see where he was gesturing to, but no one could see what he was pointing to. "You see that odd purple bush?" he tried to clarify. A few hesitant murmurs were close enough to a yes for him. "That's the tip of its tail." A collective _oh_ followed his declaration, and he suggested they approach slowly. As they progressed through the clearing the bush vanished for a moment, and the full figure of Deadeye came into view.

The behemoth stood three-quarters the height of the few nearby trees, and nearly as broad as Hammerhead's garage. One paw would be capable of crushing the Regalia, the bush-like tuft on its tail as large as a man.

"Holy shit, we're supposed to kill that thing?" Prompto muttered. The sickly sweet-sour smell was more potent the closer they crept. "Pretty sure if we all work together we could hack off its tail before it eats us all." He added.

"Its why we collected so much fire, remember? Wiz told us some hunters said there were fuel barrels deeper in its lair." Noctis answered. He summoned one of his grenades and let it bounce in his palm. He had four in total and hoped like hell he could make good use of them. He vanished the grenade and turned his attention back to Deadeye as Ignis hissed them all to be quiet, the great beast beginning to move. They were downwind from the behemoth, and while the odor was making them all nauseated, it would cover their own scent.

Deadeye stood, its low growl could be felt deep in his gut, the low-pitch vibrations making him feel nauseated, the sound reverberating in his head and bouncing between his ears. A primal fear rose in his heart, some ancient instinct reminding him this thing could tear him apart. His feet remained rooted to the ground, wide eyes watching as the behemoth moved, hesitating and sniffing at the air for a moment. Noctis licked a finger and held it up to remind himself they were downwind. _It can't smell us. It can't smell us._ He tried to chant in his mind. But they hadn't showered after leaving that Imperial base, and he felt like he had a film of death coating his skin. It put its head back down and let out another low rumble, resuming its slow lumbering pace deeper into the grove. After several dozen meters it turned, walking in a wide curve to the north and Noctis cursed under his breath at the change in direction, licking his finger and checking the wind again but to his frustration found he couldn't figure out if they were still downwind.

Ignis mimicked Noctis's action but also came up short. Assuming the wind direction hadn't changed he figured they were not yet upwind, and continued their slow follow. They crested a small hill, and waited until the behemoth had vanished behind it before sneaking to the top, trying to stay hidden behind a rocky formation. They looked down the hill and it almost appeared to be the start of an old quarry. There were red metal barrels strewn about, some were on their sides while others were upright, some upsidedown.

"So how flammable is the stuff in those barrels?" Noctis whispered to Ignis. "If those things were knocked over the whole ground down there could be saturated."

"Most likely any spilled material would have evaporated unless something was tipped very recently." Ignis answered him. "Throw your fireballs once Deadeye is close to one, and we'll be able to better ascertain how explosive those barrels are."

"It's gonna be pretty pissed off once we do that." Noctis remarked. He summoned one of the grenades and gripped it in his fist, "Should we get a little closer?" he mumbled, mostly to himself as he looked for a barrel he could hit easily. Deadeye had curled up against one of the rock walls of the quarry, near two barrels. One was overturned, but the other was still upright. "All right, once everyone is ready." Noctis stated, looking to the others. He wasn't sure what plan they could come up with besides, _blow it up and try not to die._ "Okay." He took a deep breath, bouncing the vial in his hand and stood up. He adjusted his stance, rolling his shoulders before throwing the vial with all the strength he had, letting out a loud grunt, and watch it arc across and land about a meter from the barrel, but the explosion from the contained spell was still large enough to engulf the barrel and ignite it.

The overturned barrel exploded as well, and the group was engulfed in heat as the shockwave hit them, knocking everybody over. The behemoth bellowed, the sound nearly as loud as the explosion had been, its continued screech almost forcing Noctis to clamp his hands over his ears.

"Okay watch this!" Aranea announced, her spear appearing in her hand. She bent her knees and leapt, landing halfway between the hillcrest and where Deadeye was thrashing and howling. A second leap and she was atop its back, her spear thrust into the back of its neck.

"Well come on! She can't be the one with the biggest balls in the group, Gladio will never live it down!" Prompto cheered, and began to run down the hill. Noctis cast one concerned glance at Lunafreya before forcing himself to pay attention to the fight, recalling how badly the hunt with the sabertusks had gone, and had no intention of repeating it.

He called forth his Engine Blade and warped. He lacerated the beast's hind leg, crashing into it and warping himself to the ground to prevent a four meter fall. He gagged when he hit the ground, overwhelmed by the acrid sweet-sour scent from before now joined by burning air and the acidic scent of the burnt chemicals. He coughed, trying to blink away the burning in his eyes and not lose focus. He heard Aranea shout a warning, and looked up to see a paw swinging at him. He warped away and spun around, sniffling and coughing as he tried to clear his airways. Further from the ignited barrels he could see better, clearing the burning sensation from his eyes.

He cursed when he saw Ignis knocked hard to the ground by Deadeye's tail. He had thrown his two daggers. One had missed, the other had found its mark behind its eye. He cursed again, panting for breath wondering how the others were able to breathe back down in the cloud of smoke being agitated back into the air by all the commotion. He picked himself up and warped. He landed near the downed Ignis, and Lunafreya had caught up to him, trident gripped in her hand.

"I'll protect him Noct, focus on the behemoth!" she instructed. He nodded, looking up and saw that Aranea was clinging to her spear, her thin form being thrown about as Deadeye thrashed and tried to shake her. Gladiolus was wildly swinging his great sword from opposite the best. Sparks flew as he ground the sword past the rocks in his wide arcs to hack at the thick hide on Deadeye's thigh, missing his target of the tensed muscle above the ankle joint. Noctis winced, wondering how much damage he was doing to his own weapon. _What the hell are we gonna do if he disarms himself by breaking his own damn sword?_

The other Shield was more focused, having moved away from trying to sever tendons, instead focusing her attention on the tail. It was whipping about wildly, spraying dark blood, and Crowe was dodging the sharp motions. She hacked a slice of tissue away from the back of Deadeye's left leg below the ankle joint before being knocked down again by the bloodstained tail.

"Noct I can't fire at him with her up there!" Prompto complained, snapping Noctis's attention back over. He biting down on his lip as he aimed his guns at the behemoth. He could likely fire at its flanks, but he didn't want to risk an unexpected movement putting the dragoon in the line of fire. He could see where the fire had injured the beast from this viewpoint. The underside of its neck was singed, and down along its chest. Beefy red tissue surrounded areas burned black.

"I'll get her." Noctis reassured. He motioned to warp but Deadeye jerked, a large paw swiping at them. Light flashed around them, forcing them to cover their eyes. Noctis could hear Lunafreya's grunt, and saw that she had cast a shield in time to deflect the paw. The shield shattered in a rain of sparks and the young woman collapsed to her knees, leaning over Ignis,

"Go!" she shouted as her fingers lit up and gripped the downed man. Noctis grit his teeth, warping up to the behemoth's back. He dug his blade into the thick hide to gain his bearings and shouted the dragoon's name. She looked at him and he gestured to the ground, wrapping an arm around her waist and warped. The moment his feet hit the ground he could hear Prompto's guns firing, wincing at the loud sound as it echoed off the rocky walls. Its good eye burst into a gush of fluids and the sounds it made raised in pitch and Noctis could still feel it in his stomach.

"Iggy?" he shouted, looking over to where he was bent over with Lunafreya on her hands and knees beside him, panting for breath.

"I'll watch them. There's more barrels over there. Do that blue trick again and blow up some more barrels, then we can finish it off!" Aranea shouted over the bellows of Deadeye. Noctis nodded, taking a quick inventory of his friends to ensure he could pick a spot far away from any of them. Crowe was finishing an arc of her sword that finally severed Deadeye's tail, wincing as it covered her in blood. _Its so dark in here it looks like oil_. He thought to himself. Ignis was coughing but nodding his head at whatever words Lunafreya was saying to him. Gladiolus was continuing to attack Deadeye's right hind leg with large haphazard motions, and Prompto was reloading his guns.

"Prompto! With me!" he shouted. The gunman looked up and ran towards Noctis, who grabbed him and warped over to the barrels. "Fire at him and get him to charge at us, then I'll warp us away again. He saw Aranea pointing in their direction, and the rest of the retinue ceased their attacks and began to converge on Ignis and Lunafreya's positions. Prompto fired his gun as Deadeye began to turn towards them and bucked as a bullet sheared past a shoulder.

"Got 'im! Man that guy's skin is _thick_ how'd you and the Nif chick manage to pierce it with just a sword and a spear?" he wondered aloud, and began to fire again. The behemoth bellowed, and Noctis began to shout, curse, scream, make any noise he thought would bring it over to them. And it worked.

"Holy shit this might work!" he commented. Prompto emptied his clip at the charging animal. While normally a moving target is difficult to hit, the sheer enormity of it ensured that all but two of his shots landed. He felt Noctis grab him, and in a blur of blue they were ten meters away. Noctis dropped Prompto roughly to the ground, Deadeye still charging at them and hurled two fire grenades. He could hear Prompto vomiting beside him and winced, remembering how nauseated warping used to make him. The behemoth was already limping its charge, and when the barrels exploded it was knocked over, screeching in pain and thrashing its limbs.

"That was cool!" Prompto managed after retching again. "Come on, it's neck is all messed up let's finish it off." Noctis held out a hand to help him up and nodded. He didn't think Prompto could handle the warp again and sprinted, hoping the thrashing beast would _stay down._ The gunman lifted his guns, Noctis readying his sword, and the pair focused their attacks on the neck. The Prince hesitated to allow Prompto to empty his clip before warping and using the momentum to force his engine blade into its neck.

"Can't let you boys have _all_ the fun!" a voice rang over the anguished bellowing of the behemoth, the pair looked up to see Aranea descending from the sky, spear in hand, burning her spear beside Noctis's engine blade. Gladiolus was sprinting at them as well, calling forth his great sword and in a great swing brought the blade down, tearing through the exposed flesh of Deadeye's throat, the thick hide burned away. Noctis and Prompto flinched, backing away from the spray of blood, and the ear-splitting sounds died away into short whimpers, thrashing ceasing, until it merely lay there motionless save for a shallow rise and fall of its chest. In time that too would cease.

"How's Ig?" Noctis panted, leaning over trying to catch his breath.

"Luna's patching him up he should be okay. But let's go get back." Gladiolus answered him. Let his great sword vanish and pulled Noctis's blade and Aranea's spear from the behemoth's neck. Noctis thanked him when he took the blade and vanished it.

"How'd you sneak this thing off your airship?" Gladiolus asked, looking at the object in his hand and thrust it out to her.

"It's MagiTek. Oh don't give me that look, the stuff comes in handy sometimes." She replied, and a few odd motions of her fingers the large spear compacted down to about the length of her forearm and fit into a pouch on the side of her pants. "You guys okay?" she asked, quirking a brow.

"Yeah." Noctis answered. Prompto nodded as well, straightening out his shirt and holstering his guns after clicking the safety. "You?" he asked.

"Sore, but I'll live." She shrugged.

"The others?"

"They'll all live." She remarked.

"Hey… look. You helped us out. Thanks." Gladiolus grumbled after the other two had walked past. Noctis let out a breath as he overheard the half-mumbled praise, hoping that this mean he would just calm down already.

"Just don't forget to pay me." She answered. The four of them walked back to where the others were. Lunafreya was sitting on the ground, rubbing her temple with one hand, a sealed energy drink clutched in the other. She was flanked by Crowe and Ignis, the former rubbing a palm against her back. They looked up to welcome the rest of their retinue back.

"Hey… you guys okay?" Noctis asked, coming down to his knees before Lunafreya.

"I'm all right." She answered. "would you please turn this into an ether for me." She requested, holding the can out to Noctis. He quirked a brow at her, surprised that she was actually asking him for something.

"Uh… yeah. Sure." He looked up at Crowe, and remembered his earlier thought about the oil blood. "Is behemoth blood always that dark?" he asked.

"Deadeye was blighted." She remarked.

"Wait what?!" Crowe shouted, and immediately began desperately clawing at herself, trying to brush away the drying blood from her skin and clothes, slapping at her head in frantic gestures.

"Crowe, stop!" she shouted, biting down on her lip wishing she had told her the moment Deadeye had charged into Noctis's trap. She had merely wanted to wait until everyone was together. "I can help." She explained, and the woman ceased attacked herself. "It is why I need the Ether, I need to purge the blight from each of you." She continued. "Perhaps this is why Deadeye was such an aggressive behemoth, the blight may have warped its mind." She took the can from Noctis with a nod and a quiet _thank you_. She tried to drink it quickly, and immediately wished that the thing wasn't carbonated when she pressed a fist against her mouth to try and suppress the burb that rose.

"Wow! I give that one a seven!" Crower laughed, and Lunafreya's flush grew darker.

"I tried to drink the Ether too quickly…" she answered.

"Don't be embarrassed. You should hear this one belch, it'll scare off any animals for a hundred kilometers." Noctis teased, thumbing at Gladiolus.

"Give me a drink and I'll scare anything within _two_ hundred kilometers." He snorted.

"Yeah I could go for a drink myself…" Crowe mumbled. "Hey at least now I can apparently add, _survived contracting blight_ to my list of badassery."

"That's not the worst thing I've ever heard. Why don't we find a liquor store, make early camp, and drink the last fourty-eight hours out of our brains" Gladiolus suggested, getting enthusiastic agreement from the rest of their party. Lunafreya blushed again, pressing the drink to her lips to try and finish it off.

"I feel quite a bit better. Fascinating how fast those works." She commented. She reached out to Noctis who was still kneeling across from her, smiling and sliding her fingers slowly across his cheeks, closing her eyes and met him halfway to press her forehead to his. She found her light, pouring it into him as she whispered her prayer. She said her words slowly, needing this brief contact with him to ground herself from the images of the advanced blight victims swimming to the surface, the threat of seeing it on these familiar faces making her throat constrict.

Noctis remembered the notebook that had made Ignis so weary, and saw that agitation again in both his friend and Aranea as they received Lunafreya's light, wondering what was in those notebooks that distressed the two so severely. She moved on to the rest of the group, and once everyone had been purged she stepped back and clasped her hands in front of her.

"Shall we return to the Regalia?"

"Oh! Wait! Let me get a picture of Deadeye so we can prove it to Wiz." Prompto remarked. They gave him some time to pull out his camera and fiddle with the zoom and other settings that he prattled about aloud, squinting one eye as he gazed through the lens and took his series of photos. The photos came out dark, but passable. Noctis suspected that the pictures would not be sufficient proof, but that Wiz would trust them anyways. Once he had put his camera back away Crowe called out over them,

"Come on, this place reeks. I'm sick of being places that smell like a rotting garula's asshole."

Camp was made near a small pond surrounded by trees with enough of a clearing for them to pitch their tents. After returning to Wiz to tell the man they had successfully killed deadeye. He insisted on paying the group despite the fact they had done the hunt to repay him for all his kindness. They had used the money to purchase another tent with the new addition to their team, and a large quantity of alcohol.

"Here Sparkles," Crowe handed one of the metal cups out to her, Lunafreya taking it from her and staring at it for a moment.

"I rarely drink." She admitted with a flush. The only times she had ever imbibed had been when Ravus would smuggle some alcohol into her room. She suspected that it was his way of trying to soothe his guilt at how the empire was treating her, since it happened more often than not on the days she had bruises to hide.

"Well then you're probably a lightweight which means more for me!" she cheered. "Drink up and lets make our brain cells regret ever trying to write down the shit we saw in that base!" she declared.

"I'll second that." Aranea agreed, holding her cup up.

"Fuck our brain cells!" Prompto agreed,

"To washing away our memory." Ignis added. Noctis and Gladiolus raised their cups as well once they were passed around, and upon seeing everyone on the group Lunafreya smiled lightly and held up her own, adding her own _curse our brain cells_. They all lowered their arms and chugged the undiluted rum.

"Damn!" Crowe remarked, sitting up and lifting her brows. "Girl can handle her drink!" she remarked when Lunafreya downed half her cup in one large swig without coughing or wincing.

"Living with the Nifs makes you want to kill _all_ your brain cells." Aranea suggested,

"I… cannot quite argue with that." Lunafreya admitted, blushing and running her thumbs on the rim of her cup. She looked over to Nocits beside her who was still rubbing the top of his chest after a hearty cough upon trying to drink his own cup in a large swig.

"Wish I could say the same for Princey over there. Who woulda' thunk that the oh-so-proper Oracle can handle her liquor better than the Prince!" Crowe chuckled,

"Maybe we should have bought some wine coolers for Noct." Gladiolus suggested and got a middle finger, and then blew a kiss back in response earning a second middle finger.

"Hey I suggested beer." He quipped defensively.

"Well while you sip delicately at your cup," Crowe leaned hard to her right to reach Lunafreya's cup and refill it from one of the two large bottle of rum they had purchased, the latter woman thanking her quietly and stared down at the clear liquid in the cup debating the wisdom of drinking more so quickly until Nettmann's face appeared behind her eyelids for a moment and she was quick to take a large swig. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"I always had a feeling the perfect little Oracle that the Empire toted around was a front." Aranea smiled, "glad to see that there's a human beneath the glowing perfection." She held up her cup, "fuck the Empire." And downed what remained in her cup.

"Agreed." Lunafreya concurred, unsure if the heat in her cheeks was from the words she spoke or the alcohol already taking hold. She thought about walking back over to the small pond and sitting where she had sat beside Noctis while he fished to dip her feet in the water, realizing how much alcohol she had consumed over her two large gulps. She was grateful that they had managed a relatively large meal, and hoped it would help her retain her wits. Noctis had managed to catch some fish, and when combined with the cup-noodles that Gladiolus always insisted on having, and dried foods gathered from the base, Ignis had been able to once again produce a satisfying makeshift stew.

"So you go from Imperial lackey to _fuck the empire_ just because you have a new paycheck?" Gladiolus asked.

"You do what you need to survive in Nifleheim." She answered simply. "Don't have to like your boss to get your paycheck."

"Hey remember that summer we worked at that sports shop?" Prompto spoke up.

"Oh gods why did you remind me of that place." Gladiolus groaned. "our boss was the most miserable bitch I've ever encountered in my life."

"Wait… why the hell did you need to work a retail job? You're Sheild to the _Prince of goddamn Insomnia_ " Crowe asked.

"Uh, my dad thought it would help me better relate to the common people."

"A.K.A, get your head out of your ass." Prompto smirked, Gladiolus jutting his bottom jaw out at him. "Didn't you quit by getting onto the loud speaker _attention shoppers. Manager Leah is a cunt. That is all._ "

"She literally chased me out of the store with a bat!" Gladiolus laughed.

"Like, four shoppers called the cops." Prompto added, pointing at Gladiolus. "You should have seen the look on his dad's face when the cops showed up at the Citadel! He was _training_ " he held his fingers up as air quotes "Noct when they showed up to talk to him! It was great!"

"Wait, why did the cops want to talk to _him?"_ Aranea asked, "if he was the one being chased out with a bat?"

"Well she told the cops I was the one doing the chasing."

"And they didn't have security cameras?"

"They checked those after talking with me because they had to get the warrants first and everything. My dad still wasn't happy when he heard the real story." Gladiolus explained, finishing the dregs of rum in his first cup, holding it out to Crowe for a refill. "My father rained hell on me. But was still worth it to call my boss a cunt."

"Oh man it was _glorious_! I quit a little after him but man it was all anyone could talk about for a few days!" Prompto laughed, sipping at his own cup at a more realistic pace than his companions.

"So what made this boss so bad it was worth the shit you got into?" Crowe asked. "Well. Aside from the bat thing."

"She was psycho. No matter how hard I worked it was never enough. Or anyone. Shit, I had to do the heavy lifting for every department, and I was always bitched at for being too slow. She would pick on our coworker, the girl would greet new customers then be screamed at for not milling around her section of the store. If she walked around her section of the store she would scream at the girl for not greeting new customers. It's like she was just on a power trip and wanted an excuse to hurt people. I could go on for hours."

"I could tell you some stories from Nifleheim." Aranea responded, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs. "Shit I was the only mercenary they had. Surprise my ass isn't permanently bruised."

"They allow that shit?" Gladiolus lifted a brow.

"I'm a mercenary, not enlisted."

"So they pinch your ass and you went crawling back?"

"I was hungry and needed to buy myself a fuckin' burger or two, so yeah, I went back to work." She snipped back.

"Any chance you fell prey to serial-butt-pincher Prise Frau?" Lunafreya inquired, Noctis nearly spitting out his sip and staring at her wide eyed.

"Oh gods _that_ guy? Yeah, fuckin pervert if I ever met one." Aranea replied, then laughed a little. "Couldn't get himself some ass so thought he'd pinch some."

"Did you ever run into the man when he was bound with two casts?" Lunafreya swirled her cup a bit tilting her head as she gazed at Aranea with lightly furrowed brows.

"Oh yeah, I remember that, best six weeks of my life!" A light smirk pulled at the Oracle's lips at this answer, and a light chuckle preceded her reply.

"One of the greatest of mine as well. I had told my brother about Prise's…. habits, after a particularly frustrating rotation at the Manor. He never quite told me how it came about, but the next time I saw Prise he was sporting those two casts."

"So the whopping fifteen human soldiers the Nifs had and they couldn't just dedicate a handful to the Manor?" Gladiolus asked. Noctis had never given it a lot of thought, and rarely pried into the details of the logistics of the Tenebraen occupation but his Shield's question piqued his own curiosity and he echoed the question. Lunafreya steeled herself, feeling her cheeks burn and her head growing lighter she took another large gulp of her rum.

"They rotated stations every few weeks." She answered, leaving out the detail that Caligo was always too happy to provide.

 _This way none can grow too close you, my Lady Lunafreya. For how else could we expect our soldiers to stay in top form and remain objective? It's for your protection of course. That they never grow adjusted to this station or become attached, should trouble arise it would cloud their judgement._

"They can be fuckers like that. They always rotate people around. They would sometimes send me on solo missions, or stick to a platoon for a brief time. Never get to really know your brothers-in-arms."

"Figured you'd prefer it like that, being a mercenary. No bonds, just a paycheck." Gladiolus remarked.

"Because women can't enlist in Nifleheim." This caused the large man to jerk, quirking a brow.

"The fuck? They're raging war on two damned continents and ban half their population from enslisting?"

"I can't read their minds." Aranea answered back. Prompto helped bring the conversation back to friendly banter about terrible bosses each taking turns swapping stories, sipping rum, and laughing. Another toast to _fuck the Empire_ was cheered around to finish off their alcohol supplies, most of which had been consumed by the women in the group.

"We should get to bed." Noctis suggested when he felt some raindrops on his head, looking up and noticing the absence of stars.

"I'm… pretty much half asleep." Crowe remarked. Darkness had fully settled onto the camp, the sky overcast with clouds the air colder than usual for the time of year. The group was happy to find that the area was surprisingly devoid of daemons, able to enjoy a peaceful camp. Prompto and Ignis had already crawled into their tent to sleep, Aranea had fallen asleep in her chair, retiring to the tent that she was going to share with Crowe _so I can keep an eye on you_ when Ignis lightly shook her shoulder on his way to sleep.

"More like pretty shit faced." Gladiolus remarked.

"Oh screw you…"

"Is that an invitation?" he asked, giving her a broad grin. Crowe moved to slap him, but settled for dual middle fingers instead.

"I need sleep too." Noctis stretched, feeling some cracking in his lower back as he bent backwards a bit.

"Aw, did you have three whole sips of rum? Go sleep it off, try not to barf on the Oracle." Gladiolus joked, getting another middle finger. Lunafreya couldn't restrain a light giggle. She felt delightfully relaxed, and her mind began to drift to getting Noctis alone in the tent. She gripped Noctis's hand and began to lead him towards the tent after bidding Crowe and Gladiolus goodnight. She unzipped the flap of her tent and climbed in, Noctis close behind her. He had removed his boots while sitting at the edge of the tent to keep from tracking mud in the tent, pulling his feet in to zip the tent and remove his socks, turning his head to hear.

"How you feeling?" he asked, and couldn't help the smile at how… _relaxed_ she looked. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him from behind, tugging him to the center of the tend, sitting up on her knees to rest her head on his shoulder, tilting her head to nuzzle him.

"Quite good I must admit. Yourself?" she inquired.

"Feeling pretty okay." He answered, and she tisked at the response, turning her head to plant a kiss in the crook of his shoulder. "I suppose we must make you feel a bit better." She placed a hand on his cheek to turn his head and pressed her lips against his, sighing against his mouth. He parted for her, although she still smelled and tasted of rum, but the feel of her arms around him and the taste of her tongue slipping past his lips made it the last of his concerns. She let out a long nasal sigh, and he moaned against her mouth, turning in her arms to face her, coiling his arms around her to pull her against him, enjoying the warmth of her in his embace.

"I think I'm feeling a bit better…" he murmured against her,

"Only a bit? Perhaps I'm losing my touch." She whispered back, and dipped back in to nip at his bottom lip then peck his cheek, the side of his jaw. Her lips came down against his neck and he managed to keep his moan down to a sigh. His hand found the hem of her shirt and slid under it, fingertips tracing the line of her back as she lightly bit down in his neck. "Feel more than only _a bit better_?" she inquired in a low breathy tone.

"Getting there…" he teased, and she bit his neck in retaliation. He flinched, scrunching his shoulder with a hiss of breath. But nonetheless, he found he liked the action. "That helped…" he remarked, and felt his cheeks heat up. "Maybe do it again?" he asked, and she was happy to oblige. He sighed, digging his fingertips into her back and rocked his hips against her, and she rocked her own in reply. One hand left her back and slid under the front of her shirt, drifting up to cup her breast. She whined when his warm palm cupped her, fingers lightly pinching a nipple getting her to bite down on her bottom lip. His hands were a bit rougher than usual, which she blamed on the rum, but her own actions were far from gentle. She hummed lightly as he toyed with her, rocking his hips against her again and she dropped her hands to start tugging his belt free.

"Are we feeling completely better yet?" she asked, fumbling with his pants button before slipping her hand down the front of his pants, stroking him through his boxers. "Feels like it." she gave him a light squeeze that made him jerk, and made her giggle. She sat back and he looked at her, her expression bright with a smile and cheeks glowing red.

He leaned forward, clumsily greeting that smile with a kiss, their arms awkwardly pinned between them. He slipped his hand out of her shirt and ran it through her hair. She winced when he snagged a tangle, and he brought his hand back up to cup the side of her head, his thumb brushing against her temple. She sighed against his mouth, her tongue his. He couldn't recall feeling her this passionate before.

"Almost there," he replied to her question. He gripped the hem of shirt to pull it up, wanting to see her, to feel her. He pushed her back and she followed his gesture, laying on her back and letting out a yelp,

"Oh that's cold!"

"We'll just have to warm you up," he smirked, placing his hands on either side of her bare waist. His hands were warm, and she reached up to pull his shirt off as well, he parted from her to let her slip it over her head. The static left his hair standing on end for a moment before falling back down messily, Lunafreya laughing and reaching up to ruffle his hair, which resulted in her massaging his scalp. He tilted his head into her hands and she bit down on her bottom lip, fingers curling in his hair to pull him back down towards her.

"Warm me up, and make you feel better," she declared, and sat up to greet his kiss, her mouth parting, tongues eagerly seeking each other. He tilted his hips away from her to fit his hands between them and with a few quick motions had her pants unbuttoned, unzipped, and pulled down. She tilted her hips to make the job easier and he rested against her, kissing her again. One hand ran through her hair again, the other traced her jaw, toying with her earlobe before his lips parted from her, bringing his lips to that spot just below her ear eliciting just the deep sigh he was looking for. When he sucked at that spot her sigh turned into a quiet throaty moan, tilting her head away from him. He wondered for half a moment if he had imagined it, repeating the action to get her to echo the sound.

"Gods I love you…" he moaned against her, rocking his hips against hers when she rolled her hips, the pair teasing each other still kept apart by fabric.

It felt as if it had taken half the night, but Ravus finally located where his sister and her entourage were camping for the evening. It was a small pond, horseshoed by tall trees, and had done an adequate job of shielding the small campsite. Frustrating for him when finding her had been so imperative, but at least he knew it would keep her safe. The canopies of the trees would shield their site from overhead imperial dropships now hunting her down, and the view from the road had been blocked as well. He only suspected the campsite because it was a popular one in the region according to the diner he stopped at to ask about the locale. He had seen the smoke rising through the trees, clue enough someone was making camp there.

He approached through the clearing and saw four tents, three green and one blue. He knew his sister well enough to know that the blue would likely be hers and assumed the four men she left Altissia with had divided themselves amongst the other two tents. He walked down the slight incline and tried to avoid making too much noise in the brush, approaching the blue tent and pulled the zipper.

He paused at the sight, too astonished to even shout her name. That… _boy_ was lying atop her, in nothing but his boxer shorts, the hand over his sister's breast the only thing blocking his sight from seeing far more of her than he ever needed to. Her legs around his waist, and his hips moving in ways that no amount of alcohol would erase from his mind's eye. Heat rose in his cheeks, fingertips numb as he reached out, limbs stiff, grabbing the Lucian by the hair. He ignored the pained grunt and Lunafreya's startled shout. He threw Noctis away from the tent as he saw the blur of blue the Prince's hand, and unsheathed his own blade.

"What the hell?!" Noctis shouted, his voice high.

"How _dare_ you!" he spat back, swinging at the Prince who only just managed to block the attack with his Engine Blade. He was vaguely aware of his name being called, but moved his hips and rolled his shoulders to parry Noctis's counter, the clash of their swords echoing through the trees.

"What the hell is wrong with you Ravus!" Noctis snapped back, bare feet stumbling in the damp mud. He began to shiver in the cool air, the chill in his fingers making it too hard for coordinated movements with his word.

"You foolish boy think you have any right to touch her like that?!"

"Ravus you stop this madness!" Lunafreya pleaded. She had scrambled after the two men from the tent, Noctis's shirt clutched over her chest, thankful he had yet to remove her undergarments. Her hair was sticking to her forehead, long bangs obstructing her vision. Goosebumps rolled down her arms as she shouted at them again, begging them to stop. She heard rustling and knew that the rest of their retinue would emerge and this fight could turn even uglier fast if they all joined the melee. Ravus lifted his blade, but his attack was interrupted by a flash of yellow, the image of pentagons appearing around him in a circle, and Noctis found the same around himself.

"You will stop this!" Lunafreya had shouted. Her trident was held before her. Both men were staring each other down. Noctis vanished his blade, Ravus taking two more angry swings at her shield, which caused her to gasp with the effort of holding it up against the strength of his blows. "Ravus!" she shouted. Her words finally reached him and he spun around.

"For the sake of the Six Lunafreya! Put clothes on!" he snapped, turning his head quickly.

"You're blaming _me_ for my sorry state?!" She snapped, knuckles flushing white as she gripped her trident. "If you weren't behind that shield I'd have half a mind to strike you myself!" Her voice quivered with a scratch to it, hoarse from the combination of shouting and shame. Her head felt too light, her limbs too heavy, and the cold was beginning to make her shiver.

"Blame? I blame _him_! I was so relieved to know you had safety flew from Altissia, to think for once you were in control of your life. And _this_ is how the Lucian treats you?!"

"Ravus! Use your head! Do you honestly think he was doing anything with me I didn'tconsent to?!" Her stomach roiled, her cheeks flushed, and she gripped the shirt to her chest tighter. She tried to keep her focus on her shields, worried the two men would resume fighting if she let it drop. She suddenly felt something heavy on her shoulders, she looked to her left and saw that Gladiolus had dropped his leather jacket around her. She wasn't sure if their friends had been trying to say something to them, the royal trio too furious with one another to notice them.

"Oh… thank you." She was surprised at the gesture, but gripped it with her hand gratefully, now hugging her trident to herself as she tried to keep herself as covered as possible, her exposure only truly coming to her now that her brother and Noctis had ceased trying to kill each other by force.

"Mind telling me what the hell is going on?" Gladiolus asked, staring at the pair of men, features tensed and fingers drumming against his right thigh.

"Doesn't matter! Noct is almost naked and trapped in a bubble! This is great!" Prompto announced, the shutter of his camera an exclamation point on his statement.

"Wait, what the hell?! Don't you take a picture of me like this!" Noctis shouted. He scrambled to his feet and ran towards Prompto to fight his camera way from him only to collide with Lunafreya's shield and fall back into the mud again. This only got Prompto laughing even harder while Noctis cursed and began to argue with the photographer to cease taking pictures. Ignis was standing beside him, merely taking in the scene before him.

"I have no idea!" Lunafreya shouted in answer to Gladiolus's query, using her free hand now to help close the jacket around her frame, thankful for how large the garment was. "Tell us Ravus, what is going on here?"

"He was… _disrespecting you_ " He nearly used the word _defiling,_ but caught himself in time.

"Disrespecting?" She replied, incredulous.

"He was…" he paused, looking at their audience. "Shall we speak in private sister, once you make yourself decent again." He suggested, gesturing at the other men.

"No! You are the one who tore open my tent, pulled my beloved from my arms, and immediately began to attack him! _You_ are the one to make this a public spectacle!"

"He was atop you! I was supposed to suffer that affront to you?!"

" _Affront_? Just what are you implying? That he was trying to force himself onto me?" She clutched the leather jacket with the arm that had been previously clutching her shirt so the arm with her trident could be thrust out before her, pointing the weapon at him, her arm jerking with angry gestures.

"Not… _forcing…_ but he warped your mind! Sed- Coerced! Convinced!"

"Seduced? Is that what you were about to say? You think me so weak?" she shot back, her lips a thin line, shoulders stiffening. "That I'm still nothing but some obedient waif? You want the truth? _I_ came onto _him_ tonight! Yes! We _fuck_ occasionally!" she snapped, having chose her words carefully, her intention to infuriate him further. "I am an adult! If I wish to lie with my beloved I will lie with him! Honestly, all those nights we snuck together I thought your ignorance to it was merely a farce for my sake! Gods _damnit_ Ravus! How many times must we have this fight? How many times must you doubt him, and by extension _my judgement?_ "

"Where did you learn such words? This is what I mean! This boy is a terrible influence on you!"

" _That_ is what you are taking from this? Have you heard nothing I said?" Her tone pleading, shoulders slouching. "Do you honestly think so little of me?" she repeated. Her eyes began to burn, and she swallowed back the ache in her throat, struggling to keep her breathing level as her pulse began to rush in her ears.

"Lunafreya…" he managed to drop his tone, bite back the other words he wanted to say. The tears in her eyes, the angry flush in her cheeks. Even in the dark he could see her distress.

"Leave us brother. If you wish to speak to me again it will not be on this night, or at this place. You will return to whichever airship you came in, do whatever it is you were supposed to do, and _leave me_." She insisted. "I've missed you brother. And feared for you. But if this is how you rejoin me then I wish for you to leave." Ravus stood rooted to the ground. She had never dismissed him from her presence before. For the first time in his life, he questioned how he had treated her. She dropped the shields around the two men. Ravus bit back his words, and departed. In his haste to leave, he forgot what he had originally come to tell her.

"Luna are you…" Noctis asked, having got up from the ground, accepting a towel from Ignis to start trying to get the mud off his form.

"Did he hurt you?" she inquired with an unsteady voice. Goosebumps rolled down her trembling limbs, and she hugged Gladuiolus's jacket even tighter. Noctis shook his head; outside of feeling like he might be missing a few hairs, and that he would have sore limbs in the morning from the unexpected fight, nothing but his pride had been injured. "I'm going back to bed. Gladiolus, do you mind if I return your jacket in the morning?" He gestured for her to keep it for the night, the four men watching her vanish into her tent.

"I better make sure she's okay."

"Finish wiping off that mud. You'll thank me in the morning." Ignis called to him. Noctis heeded his advice, taking a moment to finish drying himself off and brushing off as much mud and dirt as humanly possible before crawling back into the tent himself to pull a towel from his duffel.

"You're showing me those pictures." Gladiolus smirked, walking up to Prompto.

"I too need to see these," Ignis grinned, and the trio of friends laughed together at their Prince's expense, collectively deciding to worry about the royal pair's state in the morning, it would do them no good to worry now. And they had to admit, the pictures were damned funny.

"Crowe is probably going to make breaking Ravus's face her new life mission." Gladiolus remarked, wondering how the two women had managed to sleep through the ruckus.

Noctis climbed into the tent, cursing the ache in his shoulder as he leaned his weight on it. He looked up and saw Lunafreya lying on her side, her face buried in the head of her bedroll, shoulders shaking with sobs. He quickly crawled over, lying beside her and wrapping his arms around her after calling her name. He wasn't sure what to tell her, furrowing his brow as his question with an obvious answer stuck in his throat. She shifted one arm from where it was tucked around her chest, gripping the hand around her waist tight enough to be uncomfortable.

"I'm right here." He assured her, not sure what could help her calm down. She still had Gladiolus's jacket wrapped around herself, knees bent and pulled in. "I could put an explosive flask right at the tent opening as a mine in case he comes back. It would kill us too, but totally worth it to teach your brother a lesson." He teased, and smiled a little when he could hear a short chuckle between her sobs, followed by a wet sniffle.

"I'm so sorry… you all right? You weren't just telling me you're fine to keep your friends from killing Ravus?" she asked, sniffling again, and feeling awful childish.

"Little sore, but I'm fine." He told her. "I think I'm missing a few strands of hair. Still willing to stick with me missing some of my luscious locks?" She chuckled again, and he felt her loosen her grip on his hand, stretching her legs back out a bit.

"I think I can make do." She turned, looking at him with red eyes. "All those nights we were so careful… what if we had made a mistake?" _What if it had been Caligo?_ The thought made her shiver, and she clutched desperately at Noctis, pulling him closer to her. Every inch of skin that was exposed felt vulnerable, half expecting foreign hands to be grasping at anywhere that wasn't protected. _What if he tells Caligo?_ Her breath began to hitch and she curled in on herself tighter. She knew how much Ravus hated Noctis. _But he hates Caligo even more_. She tried to reassure herself.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore, they aren't stalking the hallways outside your door anymore." He answered, shifting his upper body closer to her, doing his best to fold her in his arms despite her curled position. She relaxed her knees, shifting closer to him and buried her face against his chest.

"If my brother could find me, why not them?"

"Your brother knows you a hell of a lot better than any of them, so using him as a standard candle for Luna-finding-skills seems silly. It's like asking if Ignis can cook, why can't I?" She chuckled, tense limbs beginning to slack.

"I suppose you're right." She paused, brows shooting up for a moment and bile threatened the back of her throat as heat overtook her face. "Oh Gods Ravus saw…" she groaned, feeling dizzy with embarrassment merely thinking the words. She now wanted to bury herself beneath her sleeping bag to hide herself form the world.

"Good thing I had my boxers on or he'd be traumatized for life after seeing my hairy ass." Nocits replied, tapping his chin. Lunafreya snorted and sniffled again, wiping away the last of her tears.

"Oh dear Noct… I don't know if you have a single hair follicle on your body below your ears." She craned her neck to look up at him, shifting back to ease the awkward tension in her muscles before reaching up and stroking his cheek, thumb brushing against his skin.

"Hey! It's just because I've been shaving!" he pouted. "Should I stop shaving, grow out a manly beard?"

"Hmm, awful tempting." She sighed, continuing to brush her thumb over his cheek, letting her mind wander to what he would look like with stubble, or even a full beard. As she stared into his blue eyes, taking in his smooth skin, she could still see the young boy she had befriended who turned into the man she dearly loved. _And welcomed into my bed right under their noses. Oh Gods… why did I take such foolish risk?_ She flushed again, flinching as old fears resurged and she tried to squint and regain control. _In and out. Breathe. Breathe._

"Hey…" his voice kept her grounded and she focused on the cold sleeping bag, his warm skin, his steady breathing and soothing voice.

"I'm here." She answered, and flinched at herself. "I feel like a child." She admitted. "Like when I would have a nightmare… my mother didn't think it proper for a child to sleep in their parents bed but she would being me to the den and put on a movie. I would fall asleep at some point and wake up warm in my own bed curled with some stuffed animal." She tried to cling to this fond memory, not of waking up alone in her bed with an aching body. Footsteps outside the door echoing her nightmares and causing her to spend the remainder of her night curled on her side hugging a pillow, sometimes daring to read through her shared notebook with Noctis.

"Well, let's do that." Noctis drew her back to the present again, his thumbs massaging the skin of her back. "Let's snuggle and watch a kid's movie. I have a streaming service on my phone, it'll probably stutter… but we can watch it." he suggested.

"That sounds lovely." She admitted, smiling. He sat up, and she frowned at the departure of his warmth. But it was the trigger she needed to reach for her duffel and draw out something to sleep it, frowning and stuffing it back in, turning instead to where she had placed Noctis's shirt after pulling it off him earlier. "Klepto mode activate?" he teased her, and she flushed, hugging her arms.

"I just… your shirt is warm." She switched her excuse mid-sentence, heat rising in her cheeks.

"I am a space heater. Get over here," he gestured and she scooted over to him. He laid down, spooning her in his embrace. Her head was tucked just under his chin, shimmying to press herself against him for as much contact as possible. _I'm safe. I'm here with Noct. I'm safe._ She tried to reassure herself. He flicked the back of his case to push out a small stand, and after tapping at the device for a minute had a cartoon movie starting up. "I watched this one all the time as a kid." He explained. She smiled, letting her tense muscles relax.

"I'm sorry my brother-"

"I'm sorry your brother did that to you." He interrupted her, kissing the top of her head. "Enough sorrys. I don't want to think about your brother anymore. I want to think about you, and fall asleep with you and this silly movie and dream about cartoon animals all night."

"Hmm… that sounds perfect... I love you."


	27. Clean

Like I said with At Last, holy crap did life get busy. Between my little one being more mobile, working way more hours than I should, then the holidays coming around. I'm trying to fall back into my old routine and hopefully there will not be such a delay with the next chapter! This one is a lot shorter than usual, I'm sorry, but believe it or not there's a method to my madness.

* * *

Noctis groaned and threw the sleeping bag off him with just how hot it had become in the tent. He ran the back of his hand across his forehead and winced when he realized just how much sweat was beading on his forehead. He turned his head to see Lunafreya sitting upright atop her sleeping bag with her legs folded beneath her and a book grasped in her hands. With a smile he noted that she was sitting there wearing nothing but a pair of undergarment; Gladiolus's jacket was folded beside her alongside the clothing he had stripped from her the night before.

"Well good morning sleepy-head. I was beginning to fear you had suffered from heat stroke in your sleep and it would become necessary to drag you to the pond to resuscitate you." She greeted, and he let out a huff of air at her, punctuated with an exaggerated groan as he nuzzled back into his pillow.

"It's so hot in here… a swim is a good idea. I could sling you over my shoulder and toss you in, heat's probably made you too tired to walk." He sat up suddenly and she set her book down, letting out a squeal when he shifted over to her and grabbed her, pulling her close against his chest,

"Noct!" she giggled, and flushing when she thought about the company that was likely just outside hearing her.

"Yeah you're all sweaty. You need a bath, I say to the pond with you!"

"You're sticky!" she complained.

"We _both_ need a bath then." He clucked his tongue, "really driving home my point that we both need to go for a swim." She wiggled in his embrace, her face somehow hotter than before. As she squirmed he tightened his embrace, burrowing his nose against her shoulder to plant a kiss, his breath hot on her skin.

"You surely aren't helping the temperature situation." She remarked, but tilted her head and tried to shift to get his lips to that spot that always sparked that fluttering warmth low in her belly. He followed this familiar gesture, too happy to indulge in this moment of privacy. He could hear quiet conversation outside the tent and knew their privacy was minimal but wanted to savor just a bit of this solitude with her.

"Well if we're already disgustingly sweaty a little bit of snuggling won't make matters worse."

"You're quite serious, aren't you?" she asked, sighing again as he kissed her neck. He kept his gestures light, his hands chastely wrapped around her and resting against her stomach. She rolled her shoulders for the leverage to free her arms from his embrace and cover his hands with her own as he hugged her tighter, his thumbs brushing against her skin.

"It feels like a sauna in here and somehow _your hands are still cold!_ " he complained,

"Is that so?" she asked, and reached behind her to press her hands against his bare sides, getting a _gah!_ From him and he arched away from her getting her to laugh. "They'll be far colder after a dive into a pond!"

"We have some castile soap, Iggy got the kind that smells like peppermint." He explained. And oh did he love that scent on her. Being the beloved Oracle and Princess of Tenebrae, her soaps and shampoos in the Manor often carried distinctive smells, and something about the smell of mint on her was simply soothing. He had developed a preference for it the first time she had used it. Perhaps it fit well with her pale complexion and the cold climate. A memory flickered in the back of his mind of the year before they officially stepped beyond friendship, when he had let it slip that he thought she smelled quite pretty after a bath with peppermint scented shampoo. _It makes my scalp tingle, so I quite like it_. She had explained.

"The same soap we washed the dishes with last night?" she asked.

"It's pretty all-purpose. It's why he likes it for camping so much, less shit to carry around since it gets all the jobs done." She shrugged with an appreciative _hmm_ and rested back against his chest. She wouldn't be able to tolerate the heat in the tent much longer, surprised she had managed so much of the morning before caving to the need for some fresh air.

"Let's dress." She grabbed the previous day's clothes, taking pause to make sure Noctis was decent before opening the tent flap. She stepped outside, squinting to adjust her eyes to the comparative brightness.

"There they are." Gladiolus was the first to greet them. Lunafreya paused to turn back to the tent, asking Noctis to pass her the leather jacket. She approached the Shield with it folded in her arms, blushing a bit at how the man was sitting spread-legged shirtless in his chair.

"Thank you… for last night." She held out the jacket and tried to will away the dizziness growing in the back of her mind giving her the mental image that her head was a child's party balloon about to fly away. He took it and sat forward to put it on,

"Hey don't mention it." he replied with a nod. "You…" he paused, "You sleep okay?" he asked. Lunafreya bit down on her lip for a moment, sure that he didn't ask his intended question and was grateful for it.

"Good enough, though I woke early due to the heat in the tent once the sun started to bear down upon it." she answered.

"I hope your fuckin' brother slept good because if I ever get my hands on him he'll be too busy trying to fish his teeth out of his lungs to sleep for a month!" Crowe remarked. Lunafreya flinched at the graphic remark and frowned, opening her mouth to defend her brother and realized she didn't want to. She couldn't justify his behavior the previous night, and heaved a heavy sigh instead.

"My brother is… misguided." She settled for. "And I assure you, I am plenty capable of repaying him for his actions. But… thank you." She managed a small smile and a nod.

"I'm sorry I slept through all that shit or I would have done it last night." She half-mumbled, bringing a hand up to massage her temple. Lunafreya didn't want to openly admit she was glad for it, she wasn't certain she could have maintained a third shield ; further aggression was the last thing she had wanted while trying to tame Ravus's behavior.

"I made breakfast, you hungry?" Ignis suggested. "May help with any hangover." He added.

"Definitely got my head pounding at a five not a ten." Crowe suggested.

"Gotta hand it to him, not just a good cook but apparently a miracle worker too." Aranea had been sitting quietly , trying to maintain an even distance between Crowe and Prompto, while keeping as far from Gladiolus as possible. The small smile that graced Ignis's face did not go missed by the observant Oracle.

"We were gonna go take a bath at the pond, but can't argue with breakfast." Noctis saw that the chairs that had sat out in the rain were dry, likely wiped down by Ignis then finished drying in the hot sun, hell of a contrast between the night and day.

"Take a seat, I set aside the ingredients to make something fresh for you and the Lady."

"You needn't trouble yourself for our sake Ignis, if it's easier to cook things all at once." She sat down, hands clasped in her lap, "Would you like some help at least?"

"I assure you it's no trouble at all." He dismissed, waving a hand at her. "I appreciate the offer, but I'll take care of the cooking. Eggs with some vegetables sound all right to you?" She could see him pulling some cured bacon and setting it aside in one of two bowls, and was grateful he recalled her preference. She nodded, thanking him.

"So. Where we going now? If you say another base I'll barf." Crowe wrinkled her nose.

"We need to get back on track… I should get more of the royal arms so I can forge the next covenant." Noctis suggested.

"Whoa cool, this means we'll get to see the meteor up close soon, right?" Prompto asked.

"Ugh, not so loud. My head is killing me." Gladiolus snapped, rubbing his face roughly. "Not sure why you think bacon is such a hangover cure, my brain still feels like it's trying to escape out my eyeballs." He groaned.

"I think you drank twice as much as I did." Aranea answered.

"Shall I brew more coffee?" Ignis asked, idly stirring together the eggs, tomatoes, onions, and peppers he had placed into the pot.

"I drink more of that my heart will try to escape too." Gladiolus groaned.

"I'll take some." Noctis answered, Crowe and Aranea also agreeing to some more coffee.

"I as well." Lunafreya asked after several seconds pause.

"I seem to recall you developed a new fondness for the drink." Ignis smiled, dumping the contents of her breakfast into a bowl and holding it out to her then setting to work cutting up the last of the cured bacon for Noctis's meal.

"So what's this royal arm and covenant stuff you mentioned?" Aranea asked, quirking a brow. "I mean, I read shit about the six in books, figured it's all just fairy tales." Lunafreya sighed, shaking her head. _Gods I wish it was._ She swallowed her bite of food, letting her eyes linger for a moment longer before she looked up to greet Aranea's gaze, and began to tell her the task born unto Noctis and herself, doing her best to simplify the path ahead.

"I didn't sign up to go poke the gods with a stick." Aranea curled her lip, "but I saw you cure the blight enough to know that stuff isn't stories. I guess I can stick around if it means helping you get rid of it for good."

"No demand for a paycheck?" Gladuolus interrupted. Aranea scowled, turning her head sharply,

"You _did_ just pay me after seeing that chocobo guy. I'm not _entirely_ greedy. Believe it or not I do have a soul. I _do_ give a shit the blight is killing people." She snapped back.

"And she was kind enough to pitch in some of her share to buy extra Ebony coffee." Ignis supplied.

"It's as good as you promised, so I'm glad I did. Seriously beats the shit out of the dehydrated instant crap you get with Nifleheim military rations." She was happy to accept a mug of coffee, declining the offer of sugar or powdered milk.

"You like it black too, girl after my own heart." He remarked simply. "These guys here all drown it in sugar and dairy. So I only serve them the normal stuff."

"Oh come on Iggy, share that sweet-sweet Ebony! I promise not to put any sugar in it." Prompto suggested, and Ignis scoffed, handing Noctis a bowel of bacon and eggs,

"You'd spit it out on the first sip. Here Noct. I do wish you would eat _something_ with vegetables in it."

"I like potatoes." He replied, shoving a scoop of the still steaming food into his mouth. They all began to debate the merits of coffee and what does or does not go in the beverage. Noctis and Lunafreya both set their bowls down on the ground, the Prince standing up to stretch feeling some popping in his lower back send a brief electric shock down his leg. "Well while you guys all argue about coffee Luna and I are gonna go take a bath. Ig, where's the soap?" Ignis pointed, Noctis gathered, and held his hand out to help Lunafreya stand.

"You're quite serious?" She wanted to suggest finding a place with an actual shower, unsure how clean she would feel bathing in a pond, or how comfortable she would be doing so with prying eyes none too distant.

"We're both sweaty. Come on," he tugged her arm lightly.

"I thought you were saying in jest! I have no desire to bathe in a pond." _And so close to your friends._ She blushed.

"You want to stay sticky after that sauna of a tent?" he asked her. He had a point, her skin felt as if there was a film on it and being one to prefer the cold she was more sensitive to the heat. Btu she had only ever bathed in the comforts of her master bath.

"It's not the worst." He reassured her.

"Hey if it makes you feel better I'll move my chair to the other side so my back is to the pond, even though I can't really see anything with the trees." Prompto suggested, but didn't wait for her answer before picking up his chair to move it opposite where he was. Lunafreya bit her lip, but reluctantly agreed to follow Noctis's repeated tug on her arm and kept any further protests locked in her mind.

"We'll be hidden pretty good behind the tree line so no one sitting here can see us, okay?" he offered. She glanced over at the pond, struggling to push the possible prying eyes from her mind. Gladiolus had turned his chair as well to keep his back to the pond, and the two women following suit, leaving the entire retinue with their backs to the pond.

"It's not as bad as you think." Noctis tried to reassure her.

"You've bathed in the wilderness?" she inquired, lifting a brow.

"I went swimming once or twice in the fountains a the Citadel, that counts?" he offered, shrugging at her.

"If you insist." She sighed, dropping her arm to her side when he let go of her hand to gather towels and fresh clothing.

"Try not to drown, I'll look bad in my resume if you die on me!" Crowe shouted as they started to walk away.

"I shall do my best not to succumb to the dangerous minnows surely prowling those waters eager to eat me up!" She called back. She could hear Crowe laughing, and she smirked a bit herself.

"You two seem to be getting along well." Noctis commented.

"She's quite brash, but I do seem to enjoy her company." She answered, and then paused for a moment. _Have I made a friend?_ She pondered the thought. Loneliness had driven her to try and befriend certain soldiers at the Manor, in spite of the frequent rotations, had she finally forged a bond with another person?

"Well that's good. I had to have my ass kicked by Gladio for years 'till he finally came around and started being nice." He laughed a bit.

"You've never told me what got him to come around." She inquired.

"Oh. His sister went missing. Really she just snuck out of the Citadel gardens… I got her home safe so since I helped his sister he decided maybe he didn't want to _completely_ cave my skull in anymore, since it would make Iris sad."

"Oh, the girl we met in Lestallum?" Noctis nodded, and told her the story of following the girl through a loose glass panel, and about the friendship he had with her thereafter. The pond wasn't a long walk and they set their things down on a dry rock above the water line. Lunafreya cast a glance over to where their camp was, trying to ascertain if they would be able to see anything through the foliage. She turned back around, and took a moment to admire Noctis. He was stripping from his clothing and messily tossing it onto a rock with the rest of their stuff. Her mind wandered off the subject at hand, biting down on her bottom lip.

He turned around, and she admired his ass, toned from all his years of training. He was fit, and while he didn't have intense muscle definition he was certainly trim, and oh the gentleness behind the strength in that body. His hair was sticking at odd angles, his hands running through it and it bounced right back into its messy form. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair, sure that despite the slight oily sheen that it still familiarly soft. She licked her lips, thinking about the others places on that body she longed to touch. He walked into the water, taking in a sharp intake of breath when his feet first hit the water.

"Cold?" she inquired, finally snapping from her thoughts. "That'll be a relief from this heat." She gave one last glance over her shoulder to the camp before stripping out of her own clothing, setting it aside while she listened to him complain that it was colder than expected, followed with some light teasing about how she could likely bathe in snow and feel comfortable.

"Now you're just being a tease. Get over here." He complained. He had managed to summon the will power to continue into the water until it reached the middle of his chest, and she quirked a brow realizing he wasn't far from the shore.

"Steep pond?" she asked, grabbing the castile soap that he had forgotten and joined him, finding that after several steps the ground dipped sharply. "That's a yes!" she yelped, nearly losing her footing. Noctis reached out to catch her, and she clashed against his chest. The water was cool, and felt refreshing in contrast to the summer air. She hummed, enjoying the feel of his arms against her, and her palm against wet chest. Somehow, she had maintained her grip on the soap bottle.

"Let me guess, you find this water warm?"

"Oh come now." She chuckled. "If you're so uncomfortable perhaps we should try to make this quick." She suggested, and held up the soap bottle.

"I have you with me naked, why would I want to rush?" he asked. His slid down and palmed her bottom, gripping her and giving her a tug towards him. She yelped, and then blushed furiously.

"Well, let's start with that hair," she answered back, reaching up to run both her hands through it. "Easier to wash it if your hair is wet," she smirked, and she had already pushed hard against his chest when his face fell and he tried to yelp a protest. She winced, turning her face away from the splash of water as he was pushed under. But he didn't surface after a few moments, and she wrinked her nose. "Oh don't you dare…" and before she could find him in the water he gripped her hips and tugged her under. She was able to blow air hard out of her nose to keep the water from rushing up it, bending her knees to jump up against the soft ground of the pound, gasping for breath, and yelping as she ran her hands through her hair. "Oh!"

"This way I can do your hair too!" he smirked, spitting a bit of water at her. She narrowed her eyes and debated the wisdom of aiming the soap bottle at him and squirting it, but instead attempted to sashay up to him, her movements awkward and stunted by the water. "Don't give me that look, you started it!" he held up his palms, shaking his head at her.

"This is true. Hmm… seems I owe you now." She decided that pouring the soap at him would be wasteful and instead put a coin-sized dollop in her hand and reached up, "I'm not going to push you again," she smiled when he faked a flinch. She reached up and he tilted his head down to her hands, and let out a sigh when she ran her fingers through his now wet hair, and curled her fingers to begin massaging his scalp. Her nails felt good as she scratched his skin and he dipped his head harder against her hands. Fingers shifted and massaged just above his ears, cupping his face before she tilted her head and kissed his lips, humming against him.

"Should wash your hair how," he mumbled against her lips, and she moaned a protest.

"Should rinse yours first so you don't get soap in your eyes."

"Then can I touch you?" he asked, hands drifting to her waist and stepping closer to her. She nodded and smiled, but pointed down at the water and wagged said finger at him. "Okay okay" he relented, and tipped below the water. He roughly ran his hands through his hair to try and rinse the soap out, wishing it was still her fingers before he popped back up, "get it all out?"

"Mhmm…" He held it hands out and it took her a moment to realize what he was going for and handed him the soap, and he returned her earlier gestures. Even after several days without a shower her hair felt soft in spite of the tangles. "It tingles a bit…"

"Does it hurt?" she quickly murmured a hum of negation against his lips, and when he resumed his motions she moaned at the feel of his fingers massaging her scalp, and he dared to be a little rougher with her. His fingers dug into her skin, digging into the back of her neck before dipping in to kiss her again, moaning against her mouth. Her head was tilted back to keep soap from running into her eyes. His hands dripped from her neck and traced the line of her spine. He couldn't wait to lather her soft skin, and got a devilish idea. "Rinse your hair," he suggested, not wanting his plans to be foiled by burning eyes. She dipped below the water, suds appearing where she was before she came back up,

"All good?"

"Not yet, I still need to get you… _very_ clean." He suggested. She quirked a brow, letting him take the soap bottle from her. He put some in his hand and silenced the question on her lips by cupping a breast, giving her a squeeze and causing her to giggle, which quickly faded into an _oh!_ and an approving hum. His thumb brushed over her nipple and she took in a sharp intake of breath. The peppermint oil in the soap was leaving a distinctive tingle on her skin, and she never would have expected herself to react so strongly. But a deep flush rushed to her cheeks as she heard the din of laughter reach them from the camp.

"I am not entirely sure I can get clean in standing pond water." She answered back.

"Doesn't mean I can't try." He suggested back, closing the distance between them and winding his arms around her, pressing a hand to her lower back to tug her towards him, kissing the top of her ear.

"The trees are thick but I still fear they can see or hear us." She remarked, biting down on her lip, bringing her hands between them and pushing lightly.

"Hey…" he asked in a soft tone, and she squinted a bit before shaking her head.

"I'm all right." She insisted, managing a small smile and met his eyes. "Just a bit apprehensive."

"I guess I'm just not used to the idea I actually have you all to myself. I want to take advantage of it," he tried to smile, bringing his free hand up to brush along her cheek, trying to maintain sense and not let the soap bottle sink to the bottom of the pond to grab her with both hands and kiss her senseless to drive her fear away.

"All I can seem to think about is that they would know exactly what we were up to. It seems genuine privacy is a luxury that escapes us." She shrugged, her face scrunching up slightly as she pressed a hand against her temple.

"What's wrong?" he asked,

"Headache." She answered, squinting her eyes. Pain began to tingle behind her eye, webbing up through her scalp in a dull ache. She massaged her temple for a moment before relaxing, "I'll be all right." She reassured him.

"Oh come on, everyone knows _that_ excuse, at least be creative." He teased with a smile.

"Perhaps not my most clever moment."

"Just running out of excuses to reject me at this point, huh?" he teased. She chuckled, shaking her head.

"My dashing Prince is acting most improper."

"Well I hear peppermint is good for headaches anyway." He suggested. "So let's finish up this bath and get back." She heard the suggested behind the words and shook her head,

"I think I want to lie down a bit to be honest. This one hit me quite suddenly." Her voice was softer than usual, fingertips massaging at her scalp.

"All right." He answered with a slight frown. They finished washing, Lunafreya's motions slowed as she redressed. Noctis carried their towels and soap back up to camp, concerned at the way she was rubbing at her temple the entire walk back.

"Nice and squeaky clean?" Promtpo asked upon their return.

"Well I feel a little cleaner. But an actual shower would be nice." Noctis answered, Lunafreya agreeing beside him as she fussed with her hair with her fingers for a few moments longer before asking Crowe if she happened to have a comb packed.

"My hair feels snagged from the water, despite washing it." she explained. Crowe nodded and the pair of women excused themselves for a moment. Noctis watched their movements for a moment before Ignis's voice pulled his attention.

"Noct."

"What's up?" he shifted in his chair, taking note of the folded map and book on the man's lap.

"I've done some searching and I do believe I have found our next destination. You expressed a desire to gather more royal arms, it seems the next closest tomb was erected in the Malmalam Thicket. The sources are a bit hazy on which particular arm is located there, one source states a scepter the other a morning star." He suggested.

"Wasn't there one in Costlemark Tower?" Noctis asked. Ignis flinched and wrinkled his nose, Aranea an odd reflection beside him.

"I don't know if I want to set food in that nightmare-fuel tower. Even before I read that cursed notebook, that place just always gave me the chills." She countered. "I signed up to help kick some butt, not kill myself."

"Then go back home and sip some hot cocoa." Crowe quipped, the pair of women locking eyes.

"Enough!" Ignis interrupted. "Follow us or not, we can argue that later. As for our course of action Noct, I suggest Malmalam Thicket. I feel that should legend be true, and the state of the men who entered that Tower was a result of being in such a place, we should not enter it until you have collected more strength from your ancestors."

"I guess you're right. Just feels like we're wasting time running around only to backtrack later." Noctis shrugged and turned when Lunafreya returned to her seat. There was a flat expression to her face, and her hair was pulled back in a loose elastic, rather than her usual tight updos or braids. "You okay?" he asked. She nodded, waving a hand a him.

"Just that headache." She complained.

"Ah, so she's not impervious to hangovers!" Crowe cheered. "I feel less like a loser now. Welcome to the oh-god-kill-me club!" she cheered, Aranea nodding and giving her a thumbs-up gesture of agreement. Lunafreya replied with a shrug and a sheepish smile. Noctis cocked his head and she nodded at him.

"How far is Malmalam?" she asked, hoping to cut off the question she knew Noctis was itching to ask her.

"Not terribly far, though quite difficult to arrive by car. I advise we either walk, or rent some chocobos from Wiz." Ignis answered her, and his lack of a flinch betrayed his expectation of Prompto's excited singing,

"I wanna ride my chocobo all day!" shimmying in his chair a bit.

"Guess that answers that question." Aranea shrugged. "Well my ass is getting numb. Want help packing up, what is it your friends call you? Specs?" she asked.

"I would never argue with a bit of assistance." He answered. Everyone joined in, in spite of Gladiolus insisting Aranea was taking over his share of the work which earned him a glare from Ignis and a middle finger from the dragoon. Lunafreya was moving slowly, wincing occasionally and rubbing at her temple. She, and a still hungover Crowe, let out a loud yelp when Prompto dropped one of the two camp chairs he was attempting to carry.

"Here, I'll get that." Noctis offered, grabbing Lunafreya's bag and slinging it over her shoulder so he could grab his own, as well as their tent and one of the chairs.

"Thanks," she felt bad letting him pick up the bag, but the sharp throbbing was growing behind her eye. She sighed, returning to trying to massage the pain away. Gladiolus extended the same offer to Crowe, with a much less enthusiastic reaction.

"Need to prove your dick is big? I got this." She snarked, picking up her bags and marching away from the camp.

"Fine! Just trying to be nice!" he shouted after her.

"Sure," she shouted back, stretching the word. He groaned, rolling his eyes.

"No witty remark from you?" he asked, looking over to Aranea. She turned to him and lifted a brow and rolled her eyes when she realized he was talking to her.

"Determined to dig that hole nice and deep, huh?"

"I can make it six-feet." He threatened.

"Gladio, please dial down the testosterone." Ignis asked. He opened his mouth and quickly shut it, hoisting everything he could onto his shoulders and stalking after Crowe. They were all back at the car after a short walk, with everything packed into the trunk as Prompto once again marveled at how the trunk could somehow fit all of their gear as well as the roof to the Regalia. Gladiolus noted Lunafreya pausing at the car's door, her fingers again at her temple.

"Hey." He called, trying to keep his voice low. She turned, eyes squinting slightly. "Rubbing your temple doesn't work really well." He commented, and held out his hand, twitching his fingers. "Give me your hand for a minute. I promise not to bite your fingers off." She hesitated, but held out her hand to him, and he pinched the area between her thumb and forefinger, pushing especially hard in one spot. "Here, rub right here. I know it sounds really weird." He suggested. "Iris used to get headaches sometimes. Always helped her." He explained, and let go of her hand.

"Oh," she answered, brows lifting lightly. She began to massage the spot Gladiolus instructed, "thank you. I'lll try it." She gave him a smile and a nod. He reached over to open the car door for her and she thanked him again, sliding herself into her relegated middle seat and returned to trying this new technique to ease the headache. Crowe pulled into the car next to Lunafreya's side, Noctis occupying her other. "Not taking your bike?" she inquired.

"My head wants none of it. So the ox and the chocobo are taking the bike." She answered. "You hurt your hand too?" she asked, pointing.

"No, Gladiolus has suggested a tip to help ease my headache."

"It working?"

"A bit soon to tell." Lunafreya shrugged. Crowe clucked her tongue and lolled her head back, asking to be roused when they arrived at Wiz's. Aranea entered the car and sat down in the passenger seat, asking if anyone minded she took shotgun in the Prince's car getting a chorus of _no_. Ignis sat down as well, pulling the car into gear and bringing them onto the road.

"How you feeling?" Noctis asked, resting his hand on the seat of the car, but brushing his thumb against her leg to gather her attention.

"I'll be all right." She answered, pressing her thumb into her hand and rolling in circles. Some of the tension felt like it was beginning to ease so she continued the motion, trying to will the rest of her to relax and tell herself that if she would let herself relax the tension in the rest of her body would ease. She exhaled slowly through her nose, closing her eyes and lolling her head back wishing she could sleep until they arrived at Malmalam Thicket.


	28. Headache

This story is far from dead! I am so sorry it took so long to get a chapter up. As I explained in "At Last" the combo of a highly mobile toddler combined with the holiday season of December and working a bit too many hours led to me having trouble finding the free time to write. But, here it is! I really hope you find it up to par!

* * *

The rocking of the Reglia coming to a full stop got Lunafreya and Crowe to sit back up, both women managing to drift into a fragile sleep during the short ride. With the return of conscious, so returned their respective headaches.

"You two alive back there?" Aranea inquired, turning in her seat.

"I think some garula's stampeded inside my skull but I'll live." Crowe answered, Lunafreya simply nodding her answer. Everyone got themselves from the car to meet up with Gladiolus and Prompto who had just parked the bike and climbed off of it. Lunafreya hovered in the Regalia for a few moments longer, rubbing at her temple until she remembered Gladiolus's advice and pinched the area on her hand again. She scoot to the edge of the seat and accepted Noctis's extended arm to help her stand.

"I'll go speak to Wiz." Ignis offered, the others waving to him. Prompto fell into his brief song _I want to ride my chocobo all day_ and made is way to the paddock to go watch them, digging through his gil to see if he had the money to buy some treats for the ones they would ride to the thicket. There was some debate between Noctis about whether to bring some emergency supplies with them via packing a duffel, or using Noctis's pocket. While he used it for his fishing gear and weapons, the idea of storing rations and water made him wince. Accessing it too much drained him, so the idea was unappealing. But after Gladiolus threatened to make him be the one to carry an overpacked duffel he relented, and with his Shield began to pack some things for the day.

"Hey, you feeling any better?" Gladiolus asked after standing back up from the truck with water bottles in his arms, pointing at Lunafreya's hand massaging the spot he had taught her. She looked down at her hands for a moment before shrugging,

"A bit." She answered. Though truth be told she wasn't entirely sure. The sharpness was back behind her eye, the edge of her vision blurring.

"You look miserable." Aranea observed. Gladiolus opened his mouth, but quickly shut it again. Lunafreya tried to reassure them she was feeling a bit better than before, and could see the frown on Noctis's face. She was grateful he wasn't calling her out in front of everyone. "Just overdid the booze?" she could hear the subtext behind the question and shrugged.

"We should have thought of buying painkillers when we were buying shit." Crowe commented with a sigh. "Gods… remind me never to drink like that again."

"Would a potion help?" Noctis suggested, trying to think of where they were on their supply of energy drinks.

"We need to keep those in the event of an emergency. A headache does not qualify as such." Lunafreya answered.

"Speak for yourself. I'll take one." Crowe countered. "Pretty useless as a shield if I just want to crawl into a hole and die."

"Let me try something," Lunafreya suggested. Crowe lifted a brow at her, but when she saw the Oracle reach her hands to her face pursed her lips, closing her eyes when their foreheads touched and she whispered a short prayer. Warmth filled her veins, reminiscent of sitting before a winter campfire roasting chunks of meat. The tightness in her scalp and neck faded, and the nausea hiding deep in her stomach eased.

"Damn Sparkles, figured curing hangovers would be beneath the holy magic tricks!" she cheered, knocking on the side of her own head to temp the pain to come back, smirking when it failed to. "Go fix the dragoon, I want to see the look on the big guy's face when she feels better." She added hastily. Aranea opened her mouth and shut it, a bit unsure exactly why she wanted to protest. But she allowed Lunafreya to approach and perform the same ritual, staring at her for a moment. She smirked and thanked her with a hard pat on the shoulder.

"Well seems unfair you fixed us and get stuck with a headache, so take a potion." Aranea tried to suggest, Crowe nodding beside her. Lunafreya declined the offer again, insisting she would be fine. Ignis returned with Wiz, the elder man beckoning the group. They went first to gather the riding equipment for the chocobos before he led them all to a fenced field behind the training paddock. The man set to work saddling and bridling the birds, Noctis recalling his old lessons to prepare the birds for himself and Lunafreya.

Said woman watched as the others mounted their birds with ease, doing her best to observe the way they put their foot in the stirrup and hoisted themselves onto their backs. Even the dragoon managed the task. But when she looked at the bird in front of her the only thing she could think of was that her attempt wound result in her simply falling backwards, or launching herself onto the bird's other side. She flinched when a hand grabbed her shoulder, jerking back and turning her head to meet Noctis's smile the moment before it faded.

"Sorry, didn't meant to startle you. I just wanted to show you some basics…" he suggested.

"Oh." she replied, then glanced back at the bird. She asked him how to mount, failing to banish the images of her making a complete fool of herself. But he was patient, promising to stand behind her to catch her if she lost her balance. Her first attempt resulted in her falling back down, but as promised Noctis was there to catch her. She blushed when she collided against his chest, biting down on her lip at his _oof_ and quickly apologized, trying to hide the red coating her cheeks. The second time she got up successfully, and found a fragile balance.

"Shift your hips a little, you're leaning back. The bird isn't gonna turn around and bite." He teased. She blushed again, tilting her head in an attempt to hide and it shifted her posture so she was leaning more forward, and the sense that she could fall any moment faded. She smiled at this small accomplishment, and suddenly wondered if she was delaying the entire retinue, taking a glance around. She assumed quickly that Prompto was the one in the distance, enjoying a wild gallop. The others were taking their birds for little test-trots around the outside of the fields fence. No one was staring at her, and she was grateful for it some of her guilt fading.

"I can keep myself balance standing still, hopefully that doesn't change as soon as this fluffy guy decides to move." She joked, though again her mind came alight with images of her making a fool of herself. This time, of her topping backwards over the bird and like the cartoons she would watch with her mother as a young child land in mud, or worse.

"We'll start slow." Noctis reassured her, but she shook her head.

"We don't have time for me to learn slowly. I'll be quite ungraceful, but I need to know how to stay atop my little friend here so we can head to that tomb." She answered. If anything, she wanted to hurry to the tomb so she could sit and rest again, the pain in her head coming in waves that was starting to blur her vision. _Hopefully that doesn't make this any harder than it already is._

"Well kick lightly with your heels, here," he guided her foot and she bit her lip and did as told, giving a yelp when the bird started moving. She gripped the reigns harder, hearing Noctis shout "don't pull those!" but the motion had startled her and she did so, the bird coming to a stop. She lurched forward, hugging the chocobo's neck, knees pressing tight against its sides to keep herself from sliding off. She could hear Noctis's chuckle, and wanted to think of something witty to snap at him but was too focused on not falling down. "Pulling on the reins makes it stop. Sorry, guess I should have started with that." She could hear the slightly laugh in his voice, and turned to him,

"I'm sure on your first lesson you ran with the bird like a beast-god descended from the heavens?" she quipped. He huffed with a smirk, shaking his head.

"Fell on my ass and bruised my tailbone actually." He answered. "So you're already one step ahead of me.

"My dear Prince fell? In a moment of clumsiness? I'm quite shocked at this!" she gasped. She would have covered her mouth to finish her feign, but like hell if she was letting go of these reins. He snorted and scrunched his features to pout at her, and she couldn't help her chuckle turning into a full laugh. "Oh you are far too adorable when you look at me like that."

"Annoyed? You enjoying torturing me that much?" he shot back, jutting his bottom lip to exaggerate his pout.

"Oh too much." She admitted.

"That's how you treat ones you love? Man, I'd hate to be your enemy!"

"Only for you, my dear Prince, do I enjoy such awful treatment. I suppose this makes me quite the terrible person." She sighed, tilting her head with a wistful tone in her voice. She clucked her tongue for a moment, "goes to show how crazy _you_ are, falling for such terror." She looked at him from the corner of her eye, a smirk tugging at her lips at his smile.

"Completely insane." He agreed.

"You two are gonna make me barf!" Gladiolus shouted, and laughed. He had finished trotting around the area, and Noctis noted a pair of rather attractive women eating at one of the nearby tables, leaving little wonder as to why Gladiolus hadn't gone for a run around the field with the others. "Hurry up and make out so you can finish that lesson and we can get going. My ass is already getting sore and we have a long ride." He added. The royals blushed, but Noctis was glad to see that rather than hunch in on herself Lunafreya smiled with a light chuckle.

"Okay okay." Noctis waved off his friend, and turned his attentions back to Lunafreya. He reviewed the basic commands, her naturally gentle nature making sure that her gestures with the reins were subtle enough easy to learn. "Come on let's go for a quick run around the field, then we can head to the Thicket." He suggested. She bit down on her lip, but knew time was limited. She didn't want her insecurity over chocobo riding and subsequent desire for longer lessons to result in them being stuck in the thicket after dark. She gave him a nod, having to echo with an affirmative _I'm sure after a quick circuit I'll have the basics down_ to assure him she was ready for him to mount his own bird. He nodded at her, leaping onto his own bird with an ease that made Lunafreya bite her own tongue at the surge of envy in her heart, chiding herself for it. By the time they rounded the field, she insisted she was as comfortable as she was going to get, and that there was no further need for delay their departure for the thicket.

She feared that the pain in her head would break her concentration, or that her blurring vision would make her miss something in the landscape that could cause her to fall. The pain was beginning to creep down her neck, but she pondered if it was merely the odd senses of impact she felt when the bird ran, never having ridden a chocobo before. Ignis led the troupe with the others following, save for Prompto who would spur his bird into a rapid sprint and run circles around his friends while occasionally whooping and declaring how _awesome_ it was. The thicket appeared on the horizon, and Lunafreya could see the shift in Noctis's posture.

"Noct?" she inquired. He turned to her, but after a few seconds "something wrong?" she inquired. He opened his mouth, and she could detect the _I'm fine_ on his lips before he said them and cut him off with "And don't tell me that you're fine." She insisted.

"Nervous I guess. What if my ancestor thinks I'm not worthy because I'm taking so long?" he asked.

"We left Altissia two weeks ago, and you have gathered two weapons and one covenant. Hardly being lazy." She pointed out. Then paused. _Two weeks._ A flush coated her cheeks. "Two weeks…" she mumbled. "And I don't have to give you back." She nearly whispered the words, but then flushed with guilt that he was trying to express his concerns to her and she had brought the conversation over to her own feelings. "Your ancestor shall find you worthy. Who are they to deem you unworthy if a God himself disagrees?" she inquired. Noctis hesitated, her words weighing heavily on his mind.

"Well you _can_ still return me to the store. Their policy is 21 days. As for opposing a God? Well, where do you think I got the Lucian cockiness from?" he asked. She laughed, shaking her head.

"You two love birds gonna catch up any time soon?" Crowe shouted. "You're making me look bad letting you get so far away from me, do I gotta spank you. Oh wait, that's Noct's job!" she teased. Noctis gave her the finger, Lunafreya blushing furiously and could feel the heat reaching her ears. Crowe laughed, slowing her bird so her charge could catch up. "I'm just teasing ya'" she reassured the crimson-faced woman, but for once, Lunafreya didn't feel like vanishing into a hole.

Once they had reached the tomb, Lunafreya sat on the grass, face buried her hands as she rubbed her forehead. She didn't care anymore if the retinue saw how much pain she was in, it had simply grown too strong to continue to hide it. The edges of her vision had blurred completely, and colored spots were appearing sporadically. She had managed to stay on her feet for the walk through the thicket, their birds allowed to graze outside while they ventured forth to find the tomb.

"You okay?" it felt like the hundredth time she had been asked that question, and it was growing irksome. As was her constant reassurance that she _would be_ fine, and likely just needed some rest. Noctis was extremely hesitant to enter the tomb, and Luanfreya had to remind him about the threat of nightfall if they stalled for too long in order to get him to go in there.

The heavy door shut behind him, casting the room in near complete darkness. The windows, already dim due to facing north and south, were coated in vines, their sills stained green from a stone-loving moss. He wondered that if enough light could get in here, if the walls would be green too. The thicket felt humid, and the summer climate wasn't helping to make the room more comfortable. The air felt thick, and once the door shut the limited breeze was cut off abruptly and he couldn't help the sense of claustrophobia that began to settle over him. He took a deep breath, recalling that he'd proven his worth to his ancestors twice, and to a God once. _Luna's right. I can do this._ He stepped forward, looking down at the carving of a man and finally reached out his hand. He felt the familiar tug, and _godsdamnit_ did it hurt when that damn weapon plunged into his chest. Expecting it did _not_ help. He groaned, rubbing his chest, glad his friends were outside. He took a moment to collect himself before turning to the door and pushing it open, squinting at the sudden brightness.

Lunafreya was sitting on the ground, her head buried in her knees. Crowe was sitting beside her, rubbing her back, speaking too quietly for Noctis to hear. _Luna!_ He ran over to her, dropping to his knees beside her and said her name, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"She's being stubborn. Talk her into taking a damn potion!" Crowe asked, lacking her usual bite.

"Luna take something… please." He asked.

"Those should be for emergencies." She mumbled into the fabric of her pants.

"I'm pretty sure this counts as one. How can you ride back to Wiz's in this condition?" he asked, squeezing her shoulder. "the chocobos are birds, they're really strong but can't handle two adults." _Even one as skinny as you_. He managed to keep the latter words in his head. She mumbled something, her words muffled by her pants. "Wanna try that again?" he asked.

"I said I guess you win." She sighed. "But I think an ether would work better than a potion." She admitted, biting down on her bottom lip. Noctis quirked a brow, but had the suspicion she would be dodgy in her answer if he asked her why she thought that. He nodded, asking if anyone had an energy drink on them, Crowe pulling one out.

"Where were you keeping that? I thought women's clothes didn't have pockets?!" Prompto asked.

"That's why I'm wearing men's pants." She answered. "It was in my pocket. I had a feeling Sparkles would eventually need it." she explained. "What do I care what I look like right now? Seriously who am I trying to impress with my sexy sexy legs?"

"I wouldn't mind seeing some legs." Gladiolus mused. "And Prompto's chicken legs in skinny-jeans doesn't count."

"Hey!" Prompto's sudden exclamation made Lunafreya whimper, and he winced, mumbling a much quieter apology. Noctis decided to trust her and infused the drink, nudging her to get her to look up enough to take it. She nodded her thanks, wincing at the crack and hiss of opening the can. She sipped at it, recalling her embarrassing belch the last time she drank one of the things too quickly. The more she drank, the more the pain began to fade. Though it didn't vanish completely. The colored spots in her vision vanished, though her periphery remained blurred; this made her a bit anxious as it would be easier for something _or someone Luna. Always someone_ to sneak up on her.

"Thank you." She murmured again once she had finished the drink.

"Any better?" she nodded, accepting Noctis's assistance to help her stand. Her head throbbed for a moment in protest of how quickly she tried to get up, but faded just as quickly. "Can you ride?" he asked.

"I don't have much of a choice, lest we all spend the night cuddling with daemons." She answered. Noctis frowned, not having anything to counter her point. She suggested they get moving already.

"three down, ten to go." Noctis mumbled.

"Speaking of," Ignis cleared his voice. "We made good time. We should head over to the Tomb of the Wanderer."

"I think I want to just make early camp so Luna can get some rest." Noctis argued, but said woman was already shaking her head.

"We need these arms." She insisted. "Besides, with that ether I feel better." Lunafreya countered. Noctis paused before agreeing, and together the group returned to their chocobos. He helped Luna onto her chocobo, grimacing at the slight waver in her posture but she was quick to right herself and hold the reins with a firmer grip. He mounted his own bird, asking Ignis to lead the way to the next tomb.

By the time they had all reached the next tomb, everyone dismounted with complaints about how sore their lower backs and buttocks were, sliding off their birds with far less grace than before. Lunafreya was the last to dismount. Her eyes were squinted shut, and she struggled to keep herself upright as her vision again began to blur over. She found a bizarre pattern in the throb behind her eyes, though she couldn't quite figure out what it was. Her head began to feel lighter, and it was more difficult to tell up from down, and if she was holding herself upright. She tried to hold herself up by looking down, but the colored splotches had returned.

"Luna?" Noctis asked, rubbing his bottom as he walked over to her bird. "Oh shit!" he tried to run closer to her as he saw her begin to slide off of her saddle on the far side of him. Crowe had exclaimed too, trying to rush to her charge as the woman fell hard onto the ground with an involuntary grunt. The collective shouts had drawn the attention of the rest of the retinue who all came over. The chocobos all began to kewh and fluff their feathers, one stomping its feet in agitation. Lunafreya's bird ran several meters away when the others rushed in its direction.

Pain throbbed throughout her body, and she strained to catch her breath. The impact with the ground had forced the air from her, and she gasped uselessly for several seconds before taking in a large painful gulp of air that tapered out into shallow pants. A new sharpness in the back of her ribs rolled around her back and settled into her tailbone making her legs go numb. The pain joined the pounding in her head, and she for a moment wished she would simply black out.

"Shit Luna…" Noctis murmured, placing a hand on her shoulder hesitating to touch her. She groaned and managed to roll onto her back and moan a _yes_ in answer to the many _are you okay's_ being thrown at her from every direction. She shifted, managing to put her arms beneath her to sit upright, feeling an arm around her back. She was still trying to gather her senses through the blur, a bit confused as to how she ended up on the ground.

"I'm all right I'm all right." She mumbled. Dear _gods_ did everything hurt. She could hardly hear her own voice over the patterned throbbing in hear head, blurring her vision with each beat. "I…" she hesitated, wondering if she was merely paranoid. The throbbing was no longer just simple pain. _This cannot be merely a hangover._ Maybe she was falling ill? "I'm all right." She repeated, dropping her original intent.

"You are very not okay." Noctis countered. Lunafreya caught herself before insisting that she was, but winced with a sharp twinge of pain radiating from her back. "Maybe you should stay outside while I go to the tomb, get some rest." He suggested after some hesitation. The idea of leaving her alone sat ill with him, but he couldn't justify bringing her to that tomb in this shape, and hated the fact he knew she would slow them down when time was a factor.

"I'll watch over her." Crowe added.

"You need that arm, Noct." Lunafreya could see the hesitation in Noctis's thin-lipped expression and the furrow in his brow. "I'm in good hands." Her respirations were shallow to compensate for the pain of trying to breathe any deeper, and keeping her eyes focused on Noctis was getting more difficult as the pain in her head longed for the darkness inside that cave.

"I…" the half-formed protest in his mind failed to come out his mouth and he clamped it shut, letting out a frustrated nasal sigh. "Okay." He relented. Crowe nodded at him, placing her hand on Lunafreya's shoulder.

"I got this. Plus, nice chance to sit on my ass for a few hours and play with some chocobos." She grinned.

"Oh! Speaking of!" Prompto chimed excitedly, nearly startling the birds even further, one of them walking several paces away to resume its grazing. He fished deep into his pant pocket and pulled out a paper pouch, holding it out, "some treats for the chocobos. Spoil them for me while I'm gone, 'kay?" he asked. "Some chocobo snuggles might make you feel better too there Luna."

"Just don't get bit, doesn't feel good." Gladiolus asked. "And keep trying that pressure point." He suggested. Lunafreya nodded, smiling as each of their companions offered her a various _I hope you feel better_ s and promises to try and make the trip as short as possible,

"Pretty sure Noct would explode into frustrated confetti if we tried to keep you two love birds apart for longer than a few minutes."

"I think Sparkles has a hopeless romantic side to her that she's not letting on. But I'll try to make sure she doesn't explode into confetti either, especially when her dashing knight shows up at the mouth of the cave letting out a manly bellow and holding some cool ghostly weapon above his head making the rest of us jealous with the badassery of those things." Crowe narrated. "Because those weapons are fuckin badass." She added, not bothering to hide the fact that she was, indeed, envious of the things.

"Careful not to inflate his Grace's ego." Gladiolus chuckled, patting Noctis hard on the shoulder who let out a surprised _oomf_ and glared up at his friend.

"I guess that makes my role to inject a little estrogen into the testosterone party before they all beat each other senseless from the man-fumes." Aranea added with a smile. "And here…" she reached into her pocket, pulling out a small tin. "I guess I should have offered something sooner, but didn't think of it 'till now. Mints. Might help with the whole headache thing. Man, hangovers really kick your skinny ass, huh?" she held it out to Lunafreya who accepted it after hesitating and debating refusing the offer.

"Thank you." She tried to offer a small smile, eye twitching with a new throb.

"Sure you'll be fine?" Noctis asked her.

"Better than I would be trying to keep up with you like this." She admitted. Her voice was growing even softer, eyes half-lidded. "Enough stalling for my sake. Go, go." She tried to insist, making a _shoo_ gesture with her hands. Noctis leaned forward to give her a quick peck on the lips, fighting the urge to let the kiss linger before parting from her for what was likely going to be several hours. When he pulled back he watched her cheeks glow pink, and lips tug back in a smile.

"Try not to explode without me."

"Likewise." She smirked.

"Here," he reached into his pocket that he had stored all the supplies, laying out more than enough rations and water to get the two women through the rest of the day, and the night if necessary. The last thing he wanted was for them to be stranded without enough food because he was taking too damn long. Lunafreya and Crowe both offered their thanks, the latter shooing him off _before those goo-goo eyes you're making at her make me barf glitter._ He stood up and turned and began to head into the cave, leaving the two women and their chocobos behind as they entered the cave. Noctis threw one last glance over his shoulder, seeing Lunafreya flop back against the grass with her arm slung over her face to block her eyes, Crow leaning back against her palms beside her. He chewed the corner of his lip, not liking the idea that he was entrusting Lunafreya's safety to someone other than himself. _Don't be possessive._ He chided himself, and tried to focus on what lay before them.

The cave felt unnatural once past the opening. In spite of the summer heat, the inside of the cave was almost immediately significantly colder. Everyone cursing or muttering told Noctis that he wasn't completely insane.

"What the hell?" Prompto muttered, hugging his exposed arms.

"Seriously." Aranea echoed. "This place is… unnatural." Noctis nodded in agreement. His eyes began to adjust to the darkness and he gazed around. Blue ice seemed to coat everything, reflecting light from an unknown source. It was cold, though not enough so for him to see his breath when he exhaled but he was still uncomfortable.

"My ancestors really knew how to pick a place for a tomb, cocky bastards." He muttered.

"I wouldn't go about cursing your ancestors when we're on a quest for their blessings." Ignis suggested. Noctis suspected by the slight curl to the man's lip that his friend had been thinking the same thing.

"Let's get this over with so we can get back to the Regalia and blast the heat!" Prompto suggested. "I hate the cold." He added in a mumble under his breath.

"Yeah." Noctis agreed. Something about the cold felt unsettling and a chill ran down his arms. He couldn't help but suddenly picture Lunafreya skipping around the cave asking everyone what was wrong, tossing her sweatshirt to Prompto to keep him warm while she instisted the cave was, if anything, a bit on the warm side. He snickered under his breath, which earned him an odd look from Ignis and he just shrugged and quickened his pace to hide his new frown.

"Is that just the wind? Man this place is freaky." Prompto complained.

"I've bunkered down in a few ice caves now and again in Nifleheim, that'd be some freaky sounding wind." Aranea countered.

"So is there like, something _in_ here?" He asked, drumming his fingers on his arms. "Okay I'm not an idiot there's got to be. Animals always live in caves like bats 'n stuff." He added. "Guess this place is just creeping me out."

"It's pretty creepy" Aranea agreed. Noctis waited for Gladiolus's inevitable quip, and was a bit surprised when the man didn't verbally attack the woman. _He finally get the stick out of his ass?_ He mused. He let his eyes wander more around the cave now that his eyes were beginning to adjust well to the darkness, grateful for the light in spite of the unnaturalness to it. Splotches of black hid in webs behind the ice, and the more he looked the more black he found.

"Shit, guys." He shouted. "Look around," he pointed, and the rest of his retinue looked around as well. "There's those black webs…" he trailed off to blink away the shadow of those three people in those beds.

"Oh shit. And Luna's outside." Gladiolus remarked. His fingers flexed at his side, muscles on his arms standing out.

"It may all be well hidden behind the ice." Ignis suggested. "But we should all take great care."

"Man, I _knew_ this place was giving me the creeps for a reason!" Prompto added, fidgeting in place. "Let's get that stupid weapon and get the hell out of here then scrub our skin off." He looked at his arms for so much as an abnormally dark freckle before resuming the walk forward.

"Look at the water." Aranea pointed to an area to their right where the ice ended sharply. They approached her, peering over the edge and saw a river of what appeared to be black water.

"Just shadows making the water look dark?" Gladiolus asked, and Noctis was surprised by the lack of bite in his answer to the dragoon.

"I don't think so. So don't drink the water." She remarked. "Or touch it. Or smell it. Gods I want to crawl out of my skin."

"Why is the _ground_ and the _water_ black? I thought the blight like, infected humans and animals and stuff." Prompto asked. No one had an answer for him, and after several seconds Noctis suggested they hurry the hell up. He pondered the wisdom of even being in here. What if they contracted the blight like this? _Can Luna even fix us if we do in her state?_ He grimaced, letting out a surprised yelp when his foot went out from under him and he landed hard on his ass. He cursed, rolling onto his hands and knees to stand himself back up and rub at his ass.

"Careful dude." Prompto warned. He looked down and shook his head, "at least the ice here doesn't look like nightmare fuel. But guess we need to be careful with all this ice." Put their plans on rushing on hold. Noctis contemplated abandoning the trip altogether, returning when Lunafreya was in better shape and more apt to cure the blight from them if they contracted it from this place.

"You think the blight would get worse in this place if we come back later?" He asked aloud. It was a few seconds of silence before Ignis postulated an answer.

"If it works similar to the way it does in humans, than yes. I do think that if we attempted to return at a later time it would have spread beyond its current state."

"I was afraid you'd say that. Those notebooks from hell you read, anything in there about the blight being on things, not just alive things?"

"I am afraid not. Merely the twisted ramblings of a desperate scientist who forgot that humans are… well, humans." Noctis frowned at the way his friend's features scrunched up. Aranea side-stepped to be closer to Ignis and squeezed his shoulder, letting out an exaggerated sigh.

"Pretty sure I'll be having nightmares from those notebooks for the rest of my life too, so at least you're in good company." She added the last part with a sarcastic laugh that petered out into a long sigh. Ignis reached his hand up to pat her hand in solidarity and waited until she dropped it from his shoulder to resume walking forward towards Noctis.

The eerie echo in the cavern seemed to grow louder the deeper they progressed inside, and despite getting further away from the sun at the mouth of the cave it grew no darker. The ice shone and reflected, webs of black hidden beneath them. They grew thinner the deeper they progressed into the caves, but showed no sign of disappearing completely. He wondered if it had reached the heart of the cave, or the tomb of his ancestors. Throughout the walk they took turns slipping on the ice, joking about the share of bruises they would all have by the time they got back out.

"And even with her hangover and falling of a chocobo Luna will come running up to us and insist on curing the bruises saying something way too sweet." Prompto predicted. _Well. He's not wrong._ Noctis mused, chuckling to himself.

"Pressy sure she could be in a coma and she would sleep-walk out of bed walk across all of Eos just to cure Noctis of a papercut." Gladiolus added.

"Seriously. Whenever I saw the Oracle on the news or just heard stories I always figured it was people hamming it up to hail the girl as a pseudo-goddess but shit, she really is made of sugar, more sugar, and everything nice. Skipped the spice step."

"Which is weird because her mother was scary as hell. She must take after her dad." Noctis answered. His only memories of the woman was from the visit when he was a child. She was kind enough when healing him, but holy hell was she not someone to cross.

"Is that how she ended up with you? Just way to nice to tell you to bugger off?" Aranea teased.

"I wonder that myself a lot." Noctis joked back. "How deep does this place go?" he pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time and rolled his eyes at himself. _I'm in a cave, of course I don't have service._ When the clocked blinked _00:00_. Ignis saw his friend checking for the time and looked at his watch,

"We've been walking nearly two hours. We must be close to the center by now." Ignis answered. Though it was another half-hour before they made out what they assumed was the tomb. Another fifteen minutes, and two slips on the ice later, the group was standing before the tomb. Ice coated everything this deep inside except for the tomb itself Noctis looked around for the black webbing, for any sign of it in the stone of the tomb, but it seemed to stop creeping at the edges of the tomb.

"What time is it Iggy?"

"It is… three in the afternoon." He answered.

"Shit. I better hurry my ass up." Noctis ran a hand through his hair and approached the tomb. The echo from earlier had at some point stopped, and none had thought of it until it returned suddenly, and significantly louder.

"Please tell me that was just Noct's stomach." Prompto asked. Noctis felt like he was in some horror movie made on a low-budget with a cliché script when he looked around at the awkward shadows cast by the non-existent light source reflecting off all the ice.

"You're a bunch of kids scared of the dark." Gladiolus dismissed. "Noct go fetch your next shiny toy so we can get the hell out of here and warm up."

"Yeah I'd like to get out of here." He agreed, and approached the tomb. He checked once more, eyes trained on the black webs that stopped abruptly at the tomb's edges. He hesitated for a moment before pushing it open and walking in. He couldn't help but wonder if he should be giving more pomp and parade over doing something so powerful, reaching into the echo of his ancestors and collecting their arms for the sake of his nation. But without ceremony he walked up to the stone carving and reached out to that magnetic tug, squinting with the anticipation of being stabbed with the weapon. A blinding but almost instantaneous pain that flashed and vanished like it had never happened. His hand tingled for a moment longer and he walked back out of the tomb.

"All set Noct?" Ignis asked, getting a nod from his friend.

"Not gonna show it off?" Prompto asked, Noctis shaking his head at the question.

"I just want to head out." He answered. A squeak caught their attention, and a flash of a shadow flew down at them. Ignis let out a shout followed by a curse. A bat had charged down at Ignis, knocking the glasses from his face, giving several more indignant chirps before flying away, quickly followed by two-dozen other bats.

"Cursed creatures." He mumbled.

"What you do to piss him off?" Gladiolus thumbed. "I think I heard it say something about your mother?" he mused, tapping his chin. Aranea rolled her eyes at the large man and walked over to Ignis, bending down to pick his glasses off the ground. She look a moment to inspect them with a slight smirk,

"Got yourself some sexy glasses here," she extended her arm to hand them back to him, and Ignis looked at her taking a few seconds to gather his reaction.

"Oh. Um. Thank you." He tried to turn his head as soon as he felt the heat rising in them, his neck beginning to itch.

"Sexy glasses… I think that suits you better. Specs always makes me think of some geeky kid stuck in front of a computer whining about hacking and mathy-technobabble." She asserted. Ignis cleared his throat a bit, letting out a short cough.

"They've called me that since I was a kid." He provided, slipping the glasses back onto his face and blinking a few times to readjust to everything coming back into focus. "My eyes are… quite inefficient without my glasses and contacts never sat well with me." He continued, his usual clear voice fading into a slight mumble.

"Yeah I'll never forget that! You looked like a raccoon for three days they were so red and swollen!" Prompto laughed.

"You tried to pretend for half a second you got into a fight because you were too embarrassed to admit it was just contact lenses." Gladiolus added. Noctis snickered with his friends, Ignis letting out an indignant huff.

"That's quite enough!" He shouted, feeling defensive.

"I dunno, I think the glasses suit you. Hard to picture you without 'em." Aranea offered with a shrug. She smirked for a bare moment stepped back, "Well come one, you all keep bitching about wanting to head back, so let's go."

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A little friendship, a little flirting. I hope the pacing of things feels right. And hope that I won't take a freaking month to get a chapter up again


	29. Novelty Tee-Shirt

Another chapter! I hope you enjoy it, felt very inspired and belted this thing out in record time once I sat down to write. I wish I could produce all my chapters this quickly.

* * *

With their meal finished, Lunafreya's portion only eaten with great encouragement from Crowe, Lunafreya had slipped her sweatshirt over her head so she could bunch it over her face to block out the light. The summer heat was doing little to ease her pain, but was grateful for the small mercy that was the relative quiet of their nearby surroundings. A part of her was unsettled, sure that the nearby cave and royal tomb may have something to do with the relative sparsity of local fauna and the resulting quiet. But for the moment, she was merely too grateful for the lack of stimulus to care much about it. Crowe was sitting quietly beside her, cognizant of the woman's distress.

"Quite the companion I am." Lunafreya remarked with a grimace.

"I mean, yeah, I _was_ expecting you to leap up and do a jig." Crowe responded. "Such a terrible entertainer. It's almost like you're in _pain or something._ " She added, nudging her slightly. She smirked at the small smile on Lunafreya's face, leaning back against her palms. "Nice to be getting a break after all the ass-kicking we did a few nights ago."

"Best hope nothing comes from that cave for us, or risk burning down this whole area." Lunafreya remarked. Her smile faded into a frown before she resumed her neutral expression, hoping to hide her rising anxiety from the other woman. _We need to head to the meteor_. The patterned throbbing felt as if it was hiding behind a layer of the pain, and the image swam to her mind with the newest wave. "We need to go to the meteor." She stated.

"That creepy tourist trap?" Crowe quirked a brow. "With all those people laying down offerings because they think Titan is there?" she asked.

"Titan _is_ there." Lunafreya clarified.

"Shit. All this stuff I thought was fairytales, and other shit meant to make kids behave or piss their pants is all turning out to be real. You going to tell me the tooth fairy is real too?" she asked, letting out a sharp exhale through her nose and laid back in the grass, arms tucked under her head and stared at the clouds above them.

"I suppose that means Titan is my godfather." Lunafreya mused.

"Well if he's why you have this headache then your fairy-old man is a dick." Crowe shot back. "So if dickhead is your fairy godfather, who's your fairy godmother?" she asked, jutting her lip as she tried to think which of the Six best fit the mold.

"Shiva." Lunafreya answered matter-of-factly.

"If Shiva is your fairy-godmother then wouldn't Ifrit be your fairy-godfather?" she asked back.

"No, just my fairty-milkman." Lunafreya joked back. Despite the pain in her head, she couldn't help a slight laughter, restraining it as best she could to minimize the sharpness it sent through her scalp. "Oh, I am surprised the Gods did not just strike me down for such blasphemy!"

"If Shiva really is your fairy godmother maybe she just has a good sense of humor." Crowe joked back. "And if the stories are true Ifrit couldn't give less of a shit so you're in the clear there. And pretty sure Titan has his hands full, so he can't swat you." She added. Lunafreya chuckled again, wincing and trying to press the sweatshirt harder against her face.

"It feels as if there is a small daemon who clawed its way through my eye, and is now busying itself with trying to burrow through the top of my skull." Lunafreya stated so plainly Crowe took several moments to reply, unsure if the woman was joking or not.

"I know you aren't the most touchy-feely person out there. But I can try to massage your neck and shoulder a little. It might help." Crowe offered, biting down on the corner of her lip. Her brows shot up when her offer was not immediately rejected, and the young woman sat up, hunching over her knees with the sweatshirt still clamped tightly over her face. She nodded at the offer, and Crowe paused for several seconds. "That… that was a yes?" she asked, getting another nod.

"I'll try not to bite. Might make Noct jealous." She teased, hoping the resulting chuckle wasn't making her pain much worse. She reached out and placed her hands on Lunafreya's shoulders, keeping them there in spite of her flinch and started kneading at the top of her shoulders, and smiled at the deep sigh she got in answer.

"That… that feels quite good." Lunafreya admitted. "I don't. I haven't had many massages." She admitted, and was glad for the sweatshirt she was burying her face into, hiding the blush she was certain she could feel heating her face.

"Then I need to slap Noct, lucky enough to bag a gal like you and doesn't give you a backrub once in a while?" she clucked her tongue, then tisked. "Honestly."

"He does." She quickly defended, but left off _he's not quite as good at it as this._ Even so, she would still choose one of his massages, if only for the comfort and familiarity of it being his hands on her. But given the circumstance she was glad for someone more successful at helping ease this tension that had crept into her upper body. "I didn't get to see him often, the empire limiting his visits to two-week trips twice a year." She explained. She expected Crowe to tease her for being so enamored with someone she saw so little, her mind preparing defensive responses and explanations.

"I hope he spoiled you rotten those two weeks then, or I'll owe him a second slap." Crowe replied instead.

"I assure you he did. And I think he doesn't deserve that first slap, I did tell you he would offer me a massage."

"Huh, true. I guess I'll just need to find a better excuse to slap that pretty face of his." Crowe sighed. "Feeling better?" she asked, noticing that Lunafreya had ceased pressing her sweatshirt against her face, arms going slack in her lap. The young woman nodded, and she was glad she could provide some relief for her. "Do you think another ether would help?" she asked, this time getting a shake of the head.

"I can handle my coffee, but those energy drinks have quite a bit of caffeine and drinking more than one of those things seems to do more harm than good." Lunafreya explained.

"Yeah that stuff always gave me the jitters at first, but being in the Kingsglaive I never slept enough and eventually started replacing my blood with it." Crowe answered. "Though I couldn't hold a torch to Libertus." She paused, "damnit! I forgot about that asshole! If he's still alive I still need to kick his ass!"

"Volume!" Lunafreya yelped, and the sweatshirt came back up. Whatever word she said next was lost into the void of the fabric. Crowe winced, offering an apology and redoubled her efforts at finding and easing the tension in her muscles. Lunafreya mumbled again, and Crowe quirked a brow,

"Try that again?" she asked. The sweatshirt came back down,

"Why do you need to kick his ass?" she asked. Crowe couldn't help a laugh, shaking her head.

"Hearing you swear is as weird as seeing coeurl bark."

"I was merely parroting your own statement." She answered, cheeks heating up.

"Still weird. But you don't remember? It was when we all first met. I was given a cookie recipe instead of a message." She summarized.

"Oh, I had forgotten that." Lunafreya admitted. "Should ask Noctis if Cor can get in touch with this man. Just leave out the threats." She advised. Crowe snorted, nodding her head.

"Yeah I don't think the Immortal would like it very much if I used him as my bounter hunter to lay a beatdown on Libertus. Don't care if the asshole is still in crutches." She muttered.

"Remind me never to find myself on your bad side." Lunafreya teased.

"I get that a lot." Crowe admitted.

"I join the elite ranks it seems. What led you to join the Kingsglaive?" Lunafreya inquired. Talking was growing exhausting, though as long as she refrained from shouting hearing Crowe speak was no longer agitating the daemon scratching at her skull. Crowe began telling her tale in exchange for a promise for Lunafreya not to pity the Gralean orphan with a perchance for magic finding her way into Lucis and eventually into the Kingsglaive.

"It was a home, three meals, and a job." Crowe finished. "But don't feel bad for me, as you can plainly see I came out as badass as ever." She ceased her massage for a moment to flex her muscles, making exaggerated grunts with the effort, though with no point with Lunafreya's eyes locked firmly onto either her lap or the back of her eyelids. "I just wish my damn magic still worked." She lamented.

"Your fire plus my shields seem to be quite the effective combination." Lunafreya suggested. Crowe had to admit that she was correct on this. A silence hung between them for a short while after this, save for the occasional whine or _that was a good yelp_ following the odd series of noises Lunafreya would occasionally make as Crowe continued her massage. Her thumbs growing sore she eventually sat back.

"How you feeling now?" she asked. Lunafreya managed to get herself upright, eyes open and squinted.

"Quite a bit better. Thank you. You need to teach Noctis your secrets." She requested.

"Aw, but then how do I get you rushing back into my arms?" she quipped, and leaned over to lightly punch Lunafreya on the bicep.

"If I ever get a headache… migraine… Pain. Like this again, I shall come rushing back to you." Lunafreya asked. Crowe laughed,

"You _can_ be witty. You gotta let the others see this side of you." She teased. Lunafreya blushed again, biting down on her lip and shrugging. She laid back on the grass, glad the sun was beginning to dip behind the trees.

"I am more than simply the Oracle." She answered, closing her eyes. "I'm going to see if I can steal some sleep."

"Just don't feel guilty about it." Crowe chastised.

"I make for such an entertaining companion, huh?"

"Just get some rest. I'll read on my phone." Crowe reassured. After a brief pause Lunafreya asked in a quiet tone if Crowe wouldn't mind reading aloud. She obliged, bringing up something to start from the beginning and filled the unusual silence of the area with the tale of the Princess who wanted to be a Knight, and proved her worth by slaying the dragon plaguing their kingdom.

Crowe resumed reading silently when she got halfway through chapter two and heard Lunafreya's breathing slow. She read about the Princess watching a joust, eternally jealous of the men clashing at each other as they competed to see who would be given the honor of leading a troupe of men up into the mountains to slay the dragon. As she progressed in the story she would shift her attention to the girl beside her, deep in a fitful sleep. She frowned, wondering if she always slept as such. Her face periodically twitching, or her breathing quickening only to taper into a whimper then settle back into sleep. She frowned, a thought coming to her mind. She began to read the story aloud again, shifting her position so she could watch over her charge's sleep while she read, and the whimpers and breathing slowed as she continued to read to her.

Nearly halfway through the book Crowe found herself wondering for what felt like the tenth time that the hour was growing late, and wasn't confident they could get back to Wiz's post before dark. The birds were still grazing nearby as they had been, sure not to wander too far. Three of them were curled and sleeping together in a pile of feathers that looked so adorable and comfortable Crowe had to fight the urge to go over to them and fall asleep herself, stopped only by the image of Lunafreya returning to her whimpering and restless state. Her attention was jarred when the bird experimentally pecking at a bush of berries let out a loud _kweh_. The others looked up, including the sleeping trio who all echoed in _kweh kweh!_

"Huh?" Lunfreya hummed, sitting up and rubbing at her eye.

"About time assholes!" Crowe called out after she had stood and walked several paces away, not wanting to aggravate Lunafreya's migraine once more by shouting right next to her head again. "about time you get back here! We were just beginning to worry we'd be stuck here all night with nothing but iron giants to cuddle!" The four men were emerging from the cave, and her cheerful smile dropped immediately. "Holy shit what happened to you?" she asked. "Shit." She pat at her pockets, "There's two more energy drinks over there, Noct can you make a potion?" she asked hastily.

"Slow down." He complained, a hand clamped tightly over his arm. He was pressing a wet piece of torn cloth over what appeared to be a red burn. Ignis was behind him with a limp, an arm around Aranea's neck with one of her own wrapped around his back. Prompto rubbing at and rolling his shoulder but appeared to have escaped whatever did this relatively unscathed. Gladiolus the worst of the bunch. He had a burn coating his shoulder and left side of his chest, lacerations tore through his pants, his shirt tied tightly around his upper thigh dark stains on his pants peeking below the makeshift tourniquet. His hair was singed on one side of his head, his ear pink and part of his eyebrow was darker than the rest. She could smell the burnt flesh and hair once he reached twice arm's length from her.

"What happened?" she asked again. Lunafreya had rushed up to Noctis at this point, ignoring his protests as she palms clamped down on his cheeks in a vice grip and began to whisper her prayer.

"There was a damned wyvern in there!" Gladiolus complained. "Gods I need a beer." He complained. Lunafreya pulled away from Noctis and ran up to him,

"Or a bit of light. Alcohol doesn't solve _every_ problem." Lunafreya countered. "Bend down, I can't quite reach you well." She added. Pain was written on the man's features, and he provided no protest to her light only too happy to accept it.

"You seem better." He commented as his burns began to turn pink, the pain easing.

"I do feel quite a bit better, yes." She answered.

"A wyvern?" Crowe asked, "Man. Guess we weren't joking about fairytales earlier. Did the thing breathe fire?" she asked, gesturing at Gladiolus's burns. Lunafreya was busying herself healing the others, Prompto the only one successfully fending her off with reassurances that his injuries were very superficial, an advantage of his ranged weapon preference.

"No, there were a couple bombs with it." Gladiolus clarified.

"It appeared to be a symbiotic relationship." Ignis added. "The wyvern had some eggs, and lots of bombs were nearby. As well as multiple dead creatures. I believe the wyvern would feed the bombs to placate them, so they would stay nearby and keep the nest area warm. We were just unfortunate enough to stumble too close to this nest on our way out the cave when we accidentally made a wrong turn." He explained.

"We're lucky we didn't stay lost then die." Noctis admitted. "Good thing for Ignis's visual memory. He got us back out of here."

"Daemons? During the day?" Lunafreya asked, her brows knit together. Noctis nodded at her, and she looked over at Ignis for explanation but he shook his head,

"I don't quite understand this. The cave wasn't quite as illuminated as outside, but I wouldn't have thought it dark enough to attract daemons." He offered, curling his lip and pulling his glasses off to clean them.

"All the more reason we must get to Titan." Lunafreya sighed, dropping her gaze.

"Titan?"

"That wasn't just a headache." Lunafreya admitted, explaining the patterned throbbing in her head. Noctis furrowed his brows, picturing that great meteor he could see from the terrace in Lestallum, wondering what the god himself must look like to hold up such a thing.

"You're better though? Healing us didn't make it worse?" he asked. She shook her head,

"Crowe helped me out quite a bit. And while I'm a bit tired, a little more rest should have me feeling like myself in due time. Though I feel this headache will not fade in its entirety until we convene with Titan." She stated.

"You still look pale. I should make an Ether for you." He suggested. "Don't say no." he interrupted. Crowe hastily went to where she had placed the supplies left to them by Ignis, handing an energy drink to the Prince who wasted no time infusing it with magic.

"None of that caffeine nonsense either Luna, that was hours ago." Crowe chastised. Lunafreya accepted the drink that was handed to her, drinking it while the others resumed conversation.

"So off to the metoer?" Gladiolus asked.

"Given the state of your clothing, and our supply of curatives, I feel it prudent to make a short stop in Lestallum to rest and restock." Ignis offered instead, then turned to the royals. "After what happened to the two of you with Ramuh I think being well rested would be in our best interest." The others voiced their agreements, voicing that their own bodies needed some rest after the beating they all took. A few sharp whistles and the chocobos all came running to their riders; Prompto's chocobo nearly knocking him over from nuzzling him, the blond laughing and pulling a few treats out of his pocket.

"That's all I got buddy, I gave the others to her," Prompto thumbed at Crowe. The bird continued to headbutt Prompto for more neck scratches, the man only mounting up when the others called for him to hurry up. "Okay okay!" he called, pulling himself up onto the birds back and spurring him into an immediate run, rushing past Ignis who was leading the retinue whooping and cheering with delight, wondering aloud how much a chocobo would cost to buy.

"He's like a little kid." Gladiolus chuckled.

"You really have a weird bunch'a friends." Aranea remarked, keeping pace beside Ignis. "You holding up okay? That thing got you pretty good in the hip back there and these birds aren't the most gentle mode of transportation."

"I'll be sore by the time we get back to Wiz's post, but nothing I cannot endure." Ignis answered her. The ride back was uneventful, despite how much each bounce in the saddle sent shooting pain down the advisor's leg, or the way the Oracle swayed dangerously in her saddle at times constantly reassuring every concerned companion.

They reached the post as the sun was beginning to set, and the debate over their sleeping options was short, Ignis being the one designated to ask Wiz once gain for his hospitality and a place to rest, unsure they could make it to any other safe location in time to wait out the night. They were provided a guest room, Wiz apologizing for the limited space. The retinue was quick to decide that Lunafreya could be the one to make use of the bed in hopes of resting off her illness, Noctis also winning the luck of the draw as a side effect.

"Sleep like the Prince you are," Gladiolus punched him in the arm as he laid out his sleeping bag on one side of the bed, just enough room remaining for Crowe to lay out her own between Gladiolus and the wall. Prompto was on the other side of the bed, Ignis and Aranea fitting between the foot of the bed and the wall leading out into the main hall of the post.

"I hope I don't have to pee, or I'll have to step on all of you." Prompto called, sticking two thumbs-up into the air.

"Hope you like to cuddle" Gladiolus remarked, and his following _ow!_ made Crowe's answer obvious.

"Guess I won cuddle roulette then." Aranea replied,

"Sure you aren't jealous you don't get to snuggle with _this_." Gladiolus sat up and flexed his arms, and even from near the foot of the bed Ignis and Aranea could make out Crowe's eye roll before she flopped onto her side and jerked her sleeping back up to her shoulder.

"I like my current arrangement." She answered back, Crowe snickering loud enough for the others to hear. "Though I can't complain about a little eye candy." She shrugged, her eyes immediately shifting from the muscle-bound man to Ignis. Noctis couldn't help but note how quiet Ignis was being during all of this banter, and began to wonder if his friend's face was red. Had he ever even seen Ignis blush before? _Could_ the man blush?

"Now that I think of it, why am I sleeping over here? I should be on that side of the bed next to Luna." Crowe suggested,

"No way! I sleep next to that bear every night! Let me enjoy my cozy wall-nook. At least he's not sleeping _naked_!" he countered quickly.

"I can sleep naked if you prefer," Gladiolus offered.

"I mean, I _did_ say I like eye candy." Aranea mused, tapping a finger on her jaw.

"Then swap places with me." Crowe snapped back, and the dragoon laughed.

"I already said I am pretty happy with my current arrangement." Aranea laid down and curled up in her sleeping bag as if to punctuate her point.

"How you feeling?" Noctis asked from his spot on the bed, keeping his voice low as he rolled onto his side, reaching under the sheet to find Lunafreya's hand. He hesitated for a moment before gripping it, and when she wove her fingers with his and squeeze he gripped her back and smiled.

"A bit better lying down." She answered, and gave his hand another squeeze before closing her eyes, hoping to tune out the continued back-and-forth between Crowe and Gladiolus and find some semblance of peace for what the coming days would bring.

Everyone was all-too happy to sit in the comfort of the Regalia after their long chocobo rides, save for Crowe and Prompto who were on the motorcycle and were not shy to announce the discomfort in their asses to the rest of the retinue. Noctis volunteered himself to _ride bitch_ in the back, so Lunafreya could lean more comfortably against the door, as it seemed sleep wasn't enough to cure her migraine.

"You okay?" he asked, and got yet another nod.

"You sure there sport?" Aranea asked, lifting a brow. "You look like you'd rather be dead."

"Perhaps another ether would aid you." Ignis suggested. "We are on our way to gather more curatives, so none of your _we need to save them_ arguments." He added. There was a brief pause before she mumbled a quiet _okay_. Having suspected that such an occasion would arise, he had stashed one of their energy drinks in the dashboard of the Regalia, Gladiolus following the instructions to fetch it and pass it to Noctis in the back.

"It's okay if you would like to turn music on. No need to endure the entire drive in silence." Lunafreya suggested after a sip at her ether. She pulled it way and looked at it her brows shooting up, "Did you buy a different brand of drink than usual? I… I quite like the taste."

"They were out of Noctis's usual, so I purchased what was available. Glad to hear that you like it my Lady."

"Please call me Luna" she suggested.

"Guess we should keep an eye out for that brand." Noctis added. "I guess I just go so used to Rocket Boost that I never really thought about trying different ones."

"I wonder if it shall alter the effectiveness one way or the other." Ignis mused.

"I'll tell you if I feel much better after this ether than the one you gave me yesterday." She offered, and the advisor nodded and thanked her.

"Did the pressure point work at all?" Gladiolus asked. She gave it a moment's pause and nodded, reassuring the man that she did feel a bit better. She nestled the can between her knees to start massaging said spot between the sips of the drink. After her reassurance that music would not agitate her condition further Ignis tuned the radio and they passed the ride with music and conversation.

Lunafreya slipped into a fragile sleep after her ether, despite the volume of caffeine in it. Her brief episodes of twitching or whining had Noctis worried she was slipping into nightmares, and fought with the wisdom of waking her. _She needs rest. Remember what Ramuh did, and Titan isn't preached to be as gentle._ He rested his arms on his knees and leaned forward, head tilted as he continued to debate with himself. He hated when she her sleep was fitful like this, another flex of her hand and low whimper in her throat making him sigh and lean forward to rest his arms on his knees.

"Uh, should we wake her up?" Aranea asked. Noctis turned to her, seeing her trying to lean around Noctis to get a better look at Lunafreya. "She looks like she's having some nasty dreams." _Why does this dragoon care so much?_ Noctis wondered, shaking his head.

"She needs all the extra rest she can get." He started, and hesitated before continuing. _She seems determined to help us and its not fair to ask her to risk her life with us and not clue her in._ He pondered. He drummed his fingers on his thigh, taking another glance at Lunafreya and sighed. "We already forged a covenant with Ramuh," _that freak storm_ he cut himself off, trying to promise himself that he would admit their likely involvement with her airship crash at some point. He remembered seeing Lunafreya convulse, and grimaced. "Its… really hard on Luna." _Me too. I am not looking forward to this_ he couldn't help but think, the pang of guilt almost making him nauseous.

"Oh don't beat around the bush by being cryptic." Aranea replied. "What do you mean _hard."_

"She convulsed on the ground and was unconscious for half a day. And Ramuh is supposed to be the _nice_ one. If she's already having headaches what the hell is waking Titan up going to be like?" he explained.

"Shit dude." She answered, brows coming together. "I guess then yeah even nightmare-sleep is probably better than staying awake." Noctis managed to keep his face placid, but felt surprised at the concern in her voice. "The gods make her the most holy thing on Eos then kick her ass for waking them up like she's supposed to? That's… that's fucked." She added, exhaling hard. "You spike her with happy-pills or something? She's way to peaceful for someone getting screwed so hard." He imagined that were she awake Lunafreya would likely respond with some playful joke about hitting her head too hard once upon a time, but he couldn't manage to get himself to bring some humor into their situation.

"Maybe _that's_ the secret to Spec's ebony obsession. Must be drugged!" Gladiolus declared from the font seat. Lunafreya flinched and sat up at the shout, looking around for a moment before rubbing the heels of her palms roughly against her eyes. "Oh shit. Sorry Luna… didn't mean to wake you up." He quickly apologized, chewing on the corner of his lip.

"Oh. It's quite all right. I've slept plenty." She countered, arching her back and stretching her arms, feeling several joints popping. "How long was I asleep?" she asked.

"About an hour." Noctis answered, then pulled out his phone to double-check. "Okay more like an hour and fifteen." She murmured a monosyllabic noise in answer, rubbing at her face again. "Headache?"

"I just feel hazy. The ether and that nap helped a bit. But I feel like I've just gone for a run." She admitted.

"Well you were having nightmares." Noctis admitted.

"Oh." she gazed out the window, "how far from Lestallum are we?" she inquired.

"Not much further." Ignis explained. Lunafreya tried to get herself to relax, but the patterned throbbing was returning behind her eyes, and she closed them to keep it at that dull throb and mouthed prayers to keep the pain at bay long enough for her make it to Titan and awaken him. _Grant me the strength to lend my voice and raise him from his slumber_. She felt a hand brush over her own, and squeezed the fingers that laced with hers.

"We're here." Noctis shook her shoulder and she opened her eyes, looking around feeling a bit confused. "You fell asleep again." He provided. She mumbled a bit, reaching for the door handle to let herself out of the car. The heat outside was startling, and helped finish waking her up.

"We won't be here long you can get more rest if you wish." Ignis suggested.

"Hmm? Okay." She agreed, leaning her back against the car. "Just going to wait outside the car though, get some fresh air."

"I'll be back shortly." Ignis reassured, and as he walked away Aranea gave Lunafreya a smile and a pat on the shoulder before jogging to catch up to the man,

"Hey I'll keep you company." She suggested. Noctis could have sworn he saw Ignis loosen his eternally stiff posture and walked next to the dragoon.

"I need new clothes, as much as everyone here probably enjoys this glorious body not everywhere is as warm as this damn city. Seriously… it's like its on top of a volcano." He complained. "Wanna join me or staying with the royal sweets?" Gladiolus asked.

"Royal sweets?" Crowe asked.

"They're so damn sweet on each other it gives me cavities I need a break to get clothes. And maybe stop for beer."

"I'll give you that one. And agree with the beer so count me in." Crowe agreed.

"Hey don't forget about me!" Prompto complained. "I like beer." He mumbled. "You guys don't mind?" he asked, looking to Lunafreya and Noctis. The pair shook their heads, the latter making a _shoo_ gesture and he shouted _wait for me!_ and ran after the two shields.

"Want to lie back down?" Noctis asked once their friends were out of earshot. She sighed, nodding. She knew her body and knew what was to come, and denying that she needed the extra rest was only going to make trying to wake the Archean even more enduring.

"The car is going to get scorching…" she sighed, cocking her head to the side.

"Keep the doors open for a breeze." Noctis suggested. She paused, blushing a bit.

"Well now don't I feel silly."

"For only that?" Noctis teased, getting an exaggerated pout from Lunafreya before they both chucked and she climbed into the car. Next she knew, Noctis was partially lifting her, and her jerking flinched caused her to strike her head on the roof of the Regalia.

"Whoa!" he yelped, "shit… you okay?"

"Ugh yeah… just startled me." she groaned.

"That didn't bring your headache back, did it?" Noctis asked.

"Man, we're back for ten seconds and you break the Oracle? Want me to slap him Sparkles?" Crowe called.

"Tempting." Lunafreya mumbled through a smirk. Crowe took this as an invitation and slapped Noctis on the arm,

"No breaking the Oracle! I need her to keep fixing hangovers. Gladio, take the bike. I need to keep an eye on this one here," Crowe thumbed.

"You sure its not just because your ass is still sore from those birds?" he asked.

"Oh that's totally my actual motivation. But I'm trying to pretend to be a good shield here."

"So how am I a good shield if I take the bike?"

"I'm badass enough for the two of us." Crowe suggested, and got a middle finger, Crowe too happy to give two in return. Gladiolus dropped his hand to reach for the door handle, jerking it open and dropping himself into the passenger seat, reaching his arm out to flip her off once more before pulling it shut. She rolled her eyes and shrugged,

"Oh Sparkles. Got you a little something." She said, and opened the door a bit wider to toss a tee-shirt at the young woman. It was tye-dye stating in large black letters _I SAW THE METEOR AND IT DIDN'T CURSE ME_ and in the center was an image of a cartoony Titan holding up a bright blue meteor.

and walked over to the bike.

Ignis stashed everything he purchased into the trunk, as well as the clothes Gladiolus had bought and left behind the car when arguing with Crowe. Assured by everyone they were good to go, Ignis sat in his usual seat,

"I bought the brand you seemed to like my … Lunafreya." He tried to correct himself.

"Thank you." She smiled, "I just hope everyone else likes that flavor too…"

"For once think of yourself there lady." Gladiolus commented. "You drink more of them than anyone since you fix all our asses, its only fair that we use the one you like better."

"Oh. Well… thank you, quite kind of you all." The car lurched as Ignis put the car into gear, his face turning read enough Noctis could see it reflected in the rearview mirror, apologizing profusely and mumbling about _this has never happened before!_ and aside form that first hiccup, the drive to the road leading towards the meteor was smooth as ever. They traveled for a short time before in the distance they could see a road block. Ignis pulled over for a moment, the motorcycle doing the same behind them.

"What's up man?" Gladiolus asked.

"Roadblock ahead. I don't know if it's the Nifs." Ignis explained. "Prompto's camera has a strong zoom, yes?" Gladiolus shrugged, and Ignis got out of the car to ask his friend for himself.

"Oh yeah. Hey good idea!" he cheered. The Regalia's trunk was popped and Prompto rifled through it to find his camera case, pulling it out to aim at the blockade up ahead. "Hmm… they don't like puppets. They're wearing black so they gotta be Lucian." Prompto announced.

"Why would they have a barricade on the road to the meteor?" Ignis thought aloud. He looked at it, trying to see if he saw anything unusual. "I don't think anything looks odd from here." He commented, looking at the large gray stone that seemed to pulse and shine.

"Yeah but remember the cave dude?" Prompto countered. "Looked all normal until we really stared at it."

"I think we _are_ staring at it." Lunafreya stated. Prompto flinched, turning quickly,

"We need to get you a bell! Do you make _any_ noise when you walk?" he exaggerated a shiver, "you can sneak up better than any ninja dude. Okay sorry, so staring at what?" he asked. She pointed,

"Didn't mean to startle you. The meteor. I noticed it the first time we saw it. It's gray. The meteor was always blue. At first I thought that it was merely the photographs I had seen, our first trip to Lestallum was my first time seeing it in person. But look," she held up the novelty tee-shirt Crowe had bought her, "it's blue on this too. Why would everything show the meteor as blue if it's always been gray?" she asked.

"Huh… that is weird. But look how cartoony Titan is. He's almost yellow and red on there. Maybe the shirt guys were just trying to make it more colorful." Prompto suggested. Lunafreya held the shirt out at arm's length and cocked her head at it, feeling unsure but matched his shrug.

"Perhaps you're right." She admitted.

"In either case, let us see what this blockade is about." Ignis decided, and they all got back on the road.

* * *

Event-wise, it feels like little happened here. But character development is important too, and I hope you all agree and found this chapter enjoyable! I just really wanted to show more interactions with Luna and the gang now that she's opening up, and some light Ignea (must... pace... self...) and I hope you find the pace of their eventually-budding relationship is going well and that the flirting doesn't feel forced or too quick.


	30. Titan

Holy shit guys, sorry this took me almost 2 weeks to get up and running. But I really worked hard and agonized over this chapter to make sure something as epic as Titan met my standards. So I really hope you enjoy this!

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Ignis pulled the Regalia on the shoulder of the road when directed by a man in police uniform, rolling the window down when he walked to approach them.

"Sir, I must ask you turn around. All roads leading to the meteor are closed." He instructed.

"May I inquire as to why?" Ignis asked.

"Hunters have reported a higher incidence of blight-infected wildlife in the region, and increased daemon activity at night. For safety we are prohibiting all civilian traffic to the area." He explained, gesturing at the area beyond the road block. Noctis looked up, seeing Ignis's stoic expression shift subtly, pausing for several moments before responding to the man.

"We are no mere civilians my good sir," he started. "We are indeed hunters." He offered after another pause, leaving Noctis with the impression he changed his mind halfway through speaking. He lifted his buttocks off the seat, reaching a hand into his pocket and pulling it out, handing his hunter card to the man. The officer quirked a brow and clucked at it, chuckling like Ignis was a five-year-old who just handed him an ID asking for beer.

"Level one hunters huh? Yeah I don't think a pack of blighted garulas are something you can take down. Just turn around sir." The amused smile on his face faded, and Ignis gave an irritated grunt, stuffing the card back in his wallet and then back into his pants. Noctis glanced over at Aranea, wondering if she would have some miracle solution to pull from thin air but the woman was staring out the window with her body slightly turned, her shoulders tensed and one hand woven into her own hair, drumming her fingers on the back of her head.

"Crowe's card." Noctis suggested after a moment, remembering the last time they were in a similar situation when trying to earn some extra cash through a hunter's hub in Lestallum.

"Ah, right so." He agreed. "Sir, if you ask my friend behind us on the motorcycle for her hunter card I believe you will find it more than adequate." He offered. Noctis debated for a moment just telling the damn man he was the Prince of Insomnia and to just let him through; or better yet point out the Oracle was in their back seat and the blight would not trouble them. But the officer grunted and walked away from the car, his conversation with Crowe inaudible.

"Think this'll work?" he asked his advisor in a low tone.

"I certainly hope so. This wasn't a complication I was expecting." He admitted.

"And if not?" Noctis asked.

"Sneak through." Gladiolus answered. "We need to get to Titan one way or the other."

"Sounds like a good way to get eaten." Noctis mumbled. "But I guess our options are a little limited." He dropped his head back against the seat's headrest and sighed squinting for a moment and wondered if Lunafreya's migraine was contagious.

"Okay," the officers voice made him flinch and right himself, everyone turning their attention to the man. "I'm okay letting _her_ through but the rest of you are barely more than civilians. Any idiot can claim a level-one hunter card." He carried on.

"Look we're really just trying to pass through," Ignis tried. "A group of hunters escorted by a higher level one-"

"And if I let every civilian who begged me through this roadblock we'd be cleaning up a lot more corpses. We've already had to quarantine one _hunter camp_ " the man held up air quotes and stressed the last two words, thumbing over in a miscellaneous direction, "to rule out the blight because they didn't k now what they were doing."

"Are those men blighted?" Lunafreya blurted.

"Uh, luckily no. The animals that attacked them were uninfected best we can tell." The officer explained, lifting a brow. "If you're that worried about the blight then just move on."

"Sir, I kindly request you allow us through," she began. She saw him shift his stance, face scrunching and held up a palm to forestall him, "I am Lunafreya Nox Fleuret." The man hesitated, then snorted,

"And I'm King Regis now get out of here." He barked back, slapping his hand on the roof of the car. Lunafreya's sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She tried to summon the willpower to move in spite of the sharp pain every motion caused her, thankful Noctis again allowed her the end seat making opening the door and stepping out easier, "Get back in the car ma'am." The officer demanded, his tone level but rapid, the man stepping back from the car and trained his eyes on her. She reached her hand out, and in a flash of blue light her trident appeared, fingers gripping the cool metal.

"I am Lunafreya Nox Fleuret," she repeated, "Oracle of Eos. And I ask of you to let us pass." She locked her eyes with the officer who stalled, eyes widening at the appearance of her weapon.

"I-I'm so sorry." He quickly apologized, fingers curling into a fist as his arm rigidly wrapped across his lower abdomen and he bowed at her, "I was just doing my job ma'am trying to keep the people safe from the Blight." He continued, his tone unsteady.

"Please stand. I didn't mean to frighten you." She realized how intense her display had been, and bit down on her tongue to keep herself from chewing her lip.

"You… you survived." He stammered, righting himself. "The radio said you were killed. Then…" he paused, looking into the car. "You must be…" his brows shot up and he bowed again, face scrunched. At this point his fellow officer had noticed this odd behavior and approached, quirking a brow at his partner,

"Uh Greyson, what's up?"

"This is the Prince and Oracle!" he answered quickly, and the second officer went through the same startled expression and bowed, nearly hitting his head on the driver's door mirror in his haste, mumbling the same frantic apologies.

"Uh it's fine." Noctis mumbled. Gods he hated this type of formality. It was one of the things that drove him out of the Citadel to feign a civilian life. "We just want to get through." He explained. They stood back up, alternating between the Prince in the car, and the Oracle still standing tall with her Trident in her left hand.

"Of course." They declared, nearly in unison as they stood up and walked over to the barricade and opened the makeshift gate that was blocking the road. "Please, be safe your Highness, my Lady." Lunafreya got back into the car, too exhausted to refute such formality her trident vanishing into a flash of blue. She lolled her head back against the seat, trying to fight the urge to bury her face into her palms as Ignis shifted the car into gear smoothly, and continued their way through the road.

"Should we have asked them to keep their mouths shut?" Gladiolus inquired, looking into his side-mirror to ensure that Crowe and Prompto were behind them without further incident. They drove through the rode as the roadblock vanished behind them. The sparse grass thinned and gave way to large boulders, great swirls of rock as if someone had thrown a rock into a pond and the resulting splash solidified into stone. Between the tall arches of stone were grooves into the ground, revealing the granite below. The road narrowed, leading through a natural tunnel in the rock and when they emerged on the other side, into the meteor proper, Ignis couldn't help a gasp that drew everyone's attention.

"Oh man, I bet Prompto is hating the fact he's on the bike right now." Noctis thought aloud as he took in the sight around him. Gashes bored like narrow canyons into the red basalt. The crystalized quartz of the meteor loomed overhead. Large shards of white were swirled with black, the various lines and patterns more discernable from up close. Dimly reflecting the little sunlight that peeked through the abnormal formations of stone were swirls of blue, in places overtaken by the deep obsidian more reminiscent of the ground at the foot of Ravatogh. "This place almost looks more like something near a volcano." He added.

"Guess the meteor is both blue and gray." Gladiolus added, pointing up to the towering crystals. They all looked up, murmuring various sounds and words of admiration for the area, and mused why there wasn't more tourism to see something so striking. Noctis flinched when Lunafreya yelped from beside him, her shoulders hunching as she buried her face into her hands, whimpering as her fingers curled into her hair,

"Luna?!" He asked, his hand hovering over her shoulder.

"Shit… are you okay?" Aranea asked from beside her. Ignis was maneuvering the car to a stop, keeping it as close to the side of what remained of the road, the path ahead growing too narrow for a car to continue.

"Lady Lunafreya?" Ignis asked, Gladiolus echoing the sentiment. Lunafreya whimpered again, each of the four voices gashing deeper into her head. Colors exploded behind her closed eyelids, white-hot pain shooting through her scalp, her fingers unfurling to press her palms in a fight against the pressure from within. The patterned throbbing from within was becoming more distinct, and she took a shaky hand to point at the car door. Noctis exchanged a look with Ignis for guidance, but for once his friend was lost for direction. He opened the car door, wincing at every small sound he made, turning to offer Lunafreya some assistance. Aranea shifted behind her as the Oracle attempted to leave the car, watching carefully, expecting her to collapse back at any moment.

"The Oracle must bring forth the Archean from his slumber." A familiar voice whispered. Noctis spun around, fingers extending and tingling as he felt his Engine Blade sheathed in his pocket, but released his breath and flexed his fist several times when his eyes came upon Gentiana. He whispered her name, and she nodded her head simply. She stood tall with her hands tucked into her sleeves, stepping towards the car. Lunafreya staggered out, Noctis trying to offer her support. "Please." Gentiana asked, nodding towards the woman. He chewed his lip, looking down at her for a moment and nodded to the black-haired woman.

"I…" Lunafreya tried to reassure him she was okay, but the pain wasn't subsiding. Colors danced in her vision and ate away at her limbs. She wasn't sure which was up, or down, if she was leaning to her left, or if it was the right side of her body that tilted over and collided with the car. Was it two hands on her or twenty? She felt palms on her cheeks, and a shattering numbness ate through her veins, her muscles tensed at the shock, and for a moment everything went white.

And the white faded, the colors in her vision coalesced into objects and she could distinguish her surroundings. The deafening roar in her ears and the patterns ceased, replaced instead with the musical whistling of the wind through the unnatural rock formations, and the voice of Gentiana as she spoke to her,

"The Lady shall stand next to her Prince and bring the Archaen back to Eos once more." She stated. Lunafreya smiled, trying to catch her breath as the pain in her chest gave way to desperate air hunger. She gulped several large mouthfuls of air, hiccupping several times before regaining control She could hear various calls of her name, questions of if she was all right. She nodded, not protesting when she felt Noctis trying to help her stand. She squinted for a moment, briefly confused at the return of her vision and turned to thank Gentiana, but found that the woman was no longer there.

"Luna." She turned, meeting Noctis's gaze wondering how many times he had chanted her name over the last several moments. _Minutes? Hours? How long was this all?_ She looked up to the sky, hoping to discern the time but found her efforts in vain.

"I'll be all right." She reassured, and gave a test-tap to the side of her head. "The pain is gone." She explained. "Gentiana did something to make it stop. I don't know how long it will last, so we best hurry."

"Do you need to rest first my Lady?" Ignis asked, stepping around the car. "Or another Ether perhaps?"

"I have a flask in my pocket for emergencies if ya need that type of pick-me-up." Aranea suggested.

"Heh, I like the way this one thinks," Crowe thumbed at Aranea. Lunafreya shook her head at them.

"I feel good actually." She explained, and bit down on her tongue to keep her thoughts to herself, wondering what the rebound to this magic would be. The pain had vanished so quickly she feared what its return would feel like. "We should move."

"Are you sure you don't want to rest?" Noctis asked, and she could almost hear the plea in the question to just sit for a damn minute. But she shook her head, sure that they couldn't waste much more time. Aranea exchanged a glance with Noctis and shrugged, grimacing a bit at the stubborn woman.

"Is that lady going to pop up every time we're near an astral?" Crowe asked, recalling their incident with Ramuh.

"I dunno, but I hope so." Prompto answered. "Got Luna feeling better so I'll just give another point to the win-counter,"

"So the score is thirty-three to two?" Gladiolus asked.

"More like thirty-three to three. Give us _some_ credit." Prompto countered. Lunafreya was already walking away with Noctis, Aranea, and Crowe tailing just behind. "Should we bring anything?" Prompto asked.

"Food and water is probably a good idea. It's like the inside of a furnace in here." Gladiolus complained. He hadn't noticed the heat with the distraction of the odd woman named Gentiana. He shrugged off his jacket, dropping it into the trunk of the Regalia, bringing a hand over the back of his brow. "This water will probably taste horrible in about an hour." He noted. "You want to stash your shirt in the trunk before I shut it?" he asked.

"Naw, not all of us like to run around with oiled pecs like you big guy" Prompto slapped his friend hard on the back, jogging to catch up to Lunafreya and Noctis .

"I too will decline that offer." Ignis agreed. He helped Gladiolus stuff some rations and water into a duffel before jogging to catch up to everyone. They were forced to walk single-file after five minutes of walking as the rocky trail began to narrow out, their pace greatly slowed. The heat grew more intense the deeper into the meteor they traveled, and before long they were pulling out the first water bottle to pass around.

"Gods what's up with this place?" Prompto asked. "Why is it so hot? It even feels like my shoes are gonna melt to the rock!"

"Yeah, there's obsidian everywhere like this is a volcano and not a crater." Aranea observed, looking around at their surroundings. Lunafreya looked around, feeling deeply unsettled. She wanted to move quicker and get to the center of this formation, or yell just start jumping in place to burn off this nervous energy. She paused when the path before her narrowed out and dropped down, and she started bouncing in place, fingers drumming on her thigh. She looked around at the black stone, grimacing.

"I don't think this is obsidian." She observed. The black that wove through the stone was dark, but lacked the shine of the volcanic glass. She saw a vein of it to her left, reaching out with her palm, fingertips hovering just over the stone, Noctis's hand clamping over her wrist.

"Stop!" He urged. She turned around, meeting his concerned gaze. "Guys I think she's right. Look closer." He added. "It's like in that icy cave." He looked around, the webbing patterns were interrupted by the oddity of the rock formations but as he paid closer attention he could see that they were there. It was almost impossible to recall the unnatural cold of that cave, or the cool ice within, while surrounded by the overwhelmingly acrid air.

"Noct." She stated in a level tone, looking down at the hand that was gripping her wrist. "It won't hurt me." she insisted. He let go of her, blushing and shaking his head, mumbling an apology. She reached out to touch.

"Dude this is creeping me out." Prompto was bouncing on his own heels, hugging his arms to himself as he stared at the stone wall. "How do we get down there without touching the walls?" he asked, then stared at his palms. "Shit I've been running my hands on the rock the whole time!" he began to frantically rub his palms against his pants, grunting with the effort.

"Prompto, do settle." Lunafreya asked. She wondered why she couldn't feel the blight running through this place, knitting her brows together. She could feel it in people, why wasn't she sensing it here? _Maybe you're overreacting and it is just a very impure obsidian._ She mused. "I can aid you should this prove to be a vein of blight," she added quietly. Her fingertips touched the wall, eyeing Noctis to ensure that he wouldn't reach out to grab her wrist again. As her fingers brushed against the stone she flinched, a throb puling in the back of her eyes. She withdrew her hand quickly, Noctis reaching out to tug her towards him as she began to stagger back,

"Whoa!" he shouted, "Careful, it's really narrow here." He asked, helping her right herself.

"Sorry." She apologized with a flush. "We should keep moving." She suggested.

"What was that?" He asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I need time to think." She answered. "Though I do believe these rocks are blighted." She looked down at her hands, shaking her head. "But I think you're safe because you're with me." she added, seeing the way everyone tensed up.

"How can rocks be blighted?" Gladiolus asked.

"We saw this back in that ice cave." Noctis reminded him.

"And it made no sense there either." He snapped back.

"We can debate this later." Ignis suggested. "It's bloody sweltering in here! I would rather we keep moving." He asked.

"Did… did Iggy just swear in fancy?" Prompto asked with a snicker.

"I'm hot!" he snapped defensively.

"Even the wind is hot! It's like when you open and oven and all the hot air rushes out." Prompto agreed.

"He has a point." Noctis agreed. "We really should keep going before we all die of heatstroke."

"This may be harder than we thought." Lunafreya pointed to where the narrow path ended to a three meter drop before it continued again. She sat down on the edge of the path, turning around and hugging the edge of the path to lower herself as best she good, her feet finding a good hold and began to climb down the sharp incline. Halfway down the rock became too smooth for any foot or hand-holds, and she did her best to leap down while hugging the inner edge of the rock. She hissed a sharp intake of breath as her arm brushed against the rock on her way down, wincing and looking at the new abrasion that was welling blood.

"Shit! Luna!" Noctis called over the wind, then leapt down impulsively. The narrow ledge caused him to lurch forward to avoid rolling off to the side. He heard Lunafreya grunt as he landed on top of her, and he winced, trying to pick himself back up.

"I'm fine." She insisted, shifting to sit with her back against the rock wall and brushing at her legs. She looked up at the others and called her reassurances to them as well to try and keep the concerned shouts at bay and prevent someone else from leaping down on top of her as well. _Likely Crowe. She can be as bad as Noct as times._ She appreciated that they cared for her wellbeing, but being treated like glass was grating on her nerves. "Please more careful Noct…" She stood up, brushing dust and pebbles from her clothes and skin, looking up at Noctis who was reaching out a hand to help her stand but she pressed her palms on her knees and stood on her own, "I don't wish for you to fall." She added, gesturing at the lethal drop.

"I… sorry. I was worried." He apologized, the hand extended out to her reached to the back of his own neck and scratched at the skin. The pair looked up at the others pressed up in a single-file line and gave them a thumbs-up to answer their concerned calls.

"Well?" Lunafreya called up. Crowe sighed, followed the royals and giving Lunafreya a rough pat on the shoulder and getting a nod at the question hidden behind the act. Each of the retinue leapt down, waiting for everyone to make their way further down the path to make room for the next jump, ready to jerk them away from the edge of they landed too close. They all landed with the occasional abrasion or bruise, but they had safety gotten down onto the continuing narrow path.

"Want me to go ahead Luna?" Noctis asked, but she shook her head.

"I'm okay Noct." She tried to reassure, biting her tongue when her tone echoed in her ears and the frown that replaced his small smile. "I hail from a land of floating isles. Do you think my btother and I never ventured a dangerous leap before?" she added with a smile, and glad to see his return. She continued to lead them through; they had to leap down several more times, some places felt like there was no path at all and in others it was wide enough for them to feel less consistently nervous.

"Is it getting even hotter?" Prompto asked as they neared the end of their descent. They rounded a tall spike and it was then that Titan came into view for the first time, the swirling arches of stone finally ceasing to obscure their view.

"Holy shit." Aranea whispered.

"Second that." Crowe echoed. The others in the retinue simply stared up at the Astral. He was hunched over with the meteor on his back. Shards of stone and crystal had broken off and bored into his skin. One eye was closed, the other had a large cluster of crystal impaled through his face, ancient blood staining half his face. Odd patterns of lines of white stained his sandstone colored skin.

"That hasn't been wind this whole time." Ignis observed, watching the subtle shifting in the titanic Archeans respirations, dust disturbed with each exhale.

"So you're about to piss _that_ ," Prompto pointed, "off by waking it up? He's gonna just swat us!" he admonished.

"It is the path of the Oracle to awaken the Astrals so they may join in covenant with the Crystal's Chosen King-"

"To purge the blight from our star." Gladiolus interrupted Lunafreya. "Doesn't mean we have to like the idea of the two of you being flicked like a bug halfway across Eos." A sad smile graced the Oracle's features,

"The gods never ordain to us a task which we like." There was a sadness to her tone as she looked upwards at the sleeping Astral. She flinched when he felt a hand firmly grip her shoulder, her eyes meeting Gladiolus's,

"If he's too hard on you how about we kick his ass?" He offered, giving her a thumbs-up with his free hand.

"I have a feeling this is precisely the test he might have in mind." She answered back. She was the first one to break the daze that seemed to overtake the group, again taking lead as she continued down the now widening path, wiping the back of her head to clear beads of sweat off her brow. Crowe jogged several steps to catch up to her charge, and Gladiolus walked over to his own.

"She'll get through this man. She's too damn stubborn to do anything else." He offered to his friend. Noctis forced a chuckle, but the smile didn't touch his eyes and started walking after her without another word.

"We'll all get through this." Prompto tried to encourage Gladiolus, but he too marched onward and he dropped his arms. He, Ignis, and Araena pulled up the rear of their retinue. The path turned in the same clockwise wind that they had been walking for near an hour when it ended abruptly. Lunafreya and Noctis peered over the edge,

"It's not much worse than the leap from earlier." Lunafreya observed, and turned to drop herself like before but Noctis grabbed her,

"You need to keep your strength. Let me warp you down." He suggested, but she shook her head,

"You need your strength too for this covenant. Save your magic. I can survive a small jump unharmed." She smiled. But he didn't return it, chewing his bottom lip trying to think of an argument for the stubborn woman.

"Let me go first, I'll catch you." Gladiolus stated, "No more arguments." He stated and before either royal could protest he stepped around them and leapt down, rolling when he hit the ground and brushing the gravel off himself before looking up, holding his arms out and gesturing with his hands to follow. Noctis let go of Lunafeya's wrist so she could leap down next, Gladiolus catching her and gesturing for Noctis to follow. He did so, his friend helping to catch him and right him back to his feet,

"Not so bad, huh?" he asked, slapping him hard on the back. Noctis nodded, and his gaze turned back up to Titan.

"Holy hell…" he muttered. Titan was even more imposing standing mere meters away, the great Arachean hunched over unobscured. Black wrapped around his limbs, and even in sleep his face was pulled into a grimace. His muscles were taught, a slight tremor to his arms that were wrapped behind him to hold the meteor on his back and shoulder. The heat was the most overbearing here, each breath an effort. _I feel like I'm drowning on the air._

"He already looks pissed off." Noctis remarked, and knew he sure as hell would be if he was stuck in this broiling nightmare. Lunafreya walked up beside him, reaching out to twine her fingers with his and gave a tight squeeze. She turned, ensuring the entirety of their retinue was in the sinkhole that sat at the bottom of this oddity of geology. Crowe walked up to her and gave her a hard slap on the back,

"Ready Sparkles?" she asked, then looked up at Noctis, "Should I be more worried about him fainting?" she asked.

"Like before I fear he may not like what he is about to witness. Please ensure he, nor you, interfere." She insisted. From this close to both people she could smell the acrid body odor, and suspected she smelled no better judging by the dampness under her arms.

"So what's the scoop, you just kick his feet until he wakes up and dodge the resulting slap?" Aranea asked. Ignis pushed his glasses back up his nose and tried to control his sigh though his nose but sounded instead like he was trying to clear his sinuses. "I think I broke sexy glasses here…" she winced, biting down on the corner of her lip.

"I…" Lunafreya paused, unsure how to quite describe what she did without sounding silly. "I sing, in the language of the Astrals." She explained, turning to hide the blush in her cheeks that her explanation was so simplistic.

"Sing huh?" she asked, lifting a brow. "Normally you do that to make someone fall asleep. Must be pretty tone-deaf if it wakes em up." She teased. Lunafreya snorted a short laugh, and shrugged.

"I think you just discovered the secret to this." She took a deep breath and let it out, her left hand extending out to call her trident. Noctis reached out to brush her cheek, leaning down to place a kiss on her lips, lingering for several moments before drawing back,

"I trust you." He stated simply. He stepped back, the rest of their friends stepping into line with him and watched as the Oracle walked closer to Titan. She closed her eyes, found that magic resting deep inside her and opened her mouth to sing. A mournful note broke through the hissing exhalations of Titan, and Noctis felt goosebumps rush down his arms. Her voice had such an ethereal sound when she sang like this, and his eyes stung as he felt the power behind it. His heart began to race, flexing his hands at his sides. His shoulders began to ache from the tension with which he held himself, remembering Ramuh. Her headaches. Trying not to succumb to the fear gripping his heart.

"Shit Gladio…" he muttered. "How am I going to watch this again today, then four more times?" he repeated his fears. The hot wind stopped for a moment, replaced with a deep groan. Noctis flinched, then bellowed, his hands covering his ears. Sound penetrated his every cell. His chest ached as he starved for air, the deep thrumming constricted his chest keeping him from gasping for the air he craved. His heart hammered, desperate to fuel his burning muscles. Pain tore through his hand, and after several seconds the grip on the rest of his body released, replaced only with this intense pain stabbing through his skull. _Gods this… Luna endured?_ His own thoughts were disjointed, placing both palms on the ground, trying to squint through the pain and look back where Lunafreya had been standing.

She was on the ground, her hands clutching her head. Her Trident had fallen to her side, and blood dripped steadily from her face. He tried to call her name, but his throat was dry from his desperate gasps of scalding air. He swallowed hard, feeling a hard tug on the back of his shirt. He looked up, Gladiolus staring down at him,

"You okay man?" he asked. Noctis nodded. _Fight the pain man. She didn't do this for fun._

"Crowe get her back, I need to try to form this covenant." Noctis asked. The woman didn't need to be asked twice to help her charge. They ran over to her together, and the Prince only had a moment to fuss over his beloved before Crowe grabbed one of Lunafreya's arms and pulled it around her neck, standing to pull the girl to her feet, and half-dragged her back to where the others were waiting. In the moment before another throb of his own headache left him doubled over he could see the blood staining the lower part of her face and the top of her shirt.

Foreign words replaced the nonsensical deep throbbing in his chest, and he managed to look up into Titan's face, and stepped back in surprise. The one functional eye appeared half-loosened form its socket, and lips pulled back into a sneer.

 _Little Flea_

Noctis tried not to collapse to the ground and drill his fingertips into his scalp at the sound. He instead looked up at the Astral, the great form shifting the meteor on his back to free one fist,

"Oh shit…" he mumbled, scrambling to get to his feet. He felt the tug of his weapons and grit his teeth, calling his Engine Blade and his fingers curling around the familiar hilt. He shifted his weight on his feet and watched the slow moving arm, eyes trained on his. His heart throbbed in his ears as it raced. Titan's balled fist opened to a flat palm and reached out, and Noctis warped away as it slammed into the ground. Noctis struggled to his feet with the rumble in the ground as he tried to land from his warp, grunting as he stumbled into the red dust. He righted himself quickly, warping away again as the palm slammed into the ground once more.

Lunafreya watched with wide eyes as Nocits warped, again and again. Hardly having the time to right himself and correct his stance for the next warp before Titan's palm would reach out and slam into the ground once more, causing them all to stagger to keep upright. _Prove your worth_ she whispered under her breath. How was Titan supposed to expect him to put up a fight alone against an astral? She was still reeling from her own effects of the summoning. She was pinching the bridge of her nose with one hand, trying to stem the blood flowing from it. The muffled sounds in her ears had her concerned of fluid in her ears as well, and the others hadn't hesitated to mention how alien she looked with the whites of her eyes obscured red with blown blood vessels. Her skin was peppered with red dots as the capillaries under her skin ruptured, and the pain once centered in her head now rolled through her entire body. A slight tremor shook her limbs, but she tried to keep her focus on Noctis as he warped about.

With Titan's arm extended rather than wrapped around the meteor Lunafreya could see the extent of the webbing black patterns on his arm, and there was no mistaking that webbing for shadows. Her breath caught in her throat, and she blinked away a series of throbs behind her eyes, gasping and pressing a palm to the side of her head.

 _Little tick! I …. I…._

She squinted, looking at the blue shimmers and could see Noctis's curled expression, his jaw tense and muscles standing out in his neck.

 _Swat. Pest. Disturb… I… this… the crystal, that crystal? I feel the presence…._

The throbbing was becoming disjointed, she could only make out occasional words that made little sense. The attempts to discern what it mean were fruitless. _He can't do this alone_. She thought, her brows knit with concern as she watched her beloved struggle just to dodge these blows, Titan's movements quick, jerking, like she was watching a movie missing some frames. _How can he be expected to do this alone?_ _My Prince… who has collected so many loyal to him, our hearts with him. Why must he do this alone?_

"No." She declared, biting down on her bottom lip and shook her head. "He will not be doing this alone."

"Luna?" Crowe asked, quirking a brow and nearly yelping as the woman dropped the palm she had pressed against her head, reaching out to summon her Trident, letting the rag pressed to her nose fall to the ground. "Whoa whoa, you're still bleeding." She tried to insist, but Lunafreya shook her head.

"I'll be all right. But he needs help." She insisted. "I don't think Titan is of his own mind. I need to somehow get close enough to touch him without being swatted. If I can clear just a bit of the blight perhaps he will regain his mind." She explained.

"Wait, did you say _Blight?!_ That black shit actually is the Blight?!" Crowe startled.

"Shit… what did I get myself into." Aranea mumbled. She reached to her hip, pulling out a sleeve of metal and with a click and flick of the wrist her polearm extended itself, "well count me in. Getting bored sitting on the sidelines watching a light show." She continued, pointing it where Noctis's warps were beginning to stutter.

"Noct!" Lunafreya yelped, reaching her palm out and trying to find her magic to shield Noctis from Titan's fist coming down over him when his warp failed halfway though and he rolled onto his back, holding his blade above his head. She grunted with the hard impact, the shield shattering immediately, but it had stopped Titan's fist long enough for Noctis to roll away and take a slash, his blade making a small chip in the side of the Astral's palm. Hot wind blew around them as Titan bellowed in pain, rage, amusement? They couldn't tell what the abnormal sound was supposed to be.

"If he's blighted then how the hell can Noct make a covenant?" Gladiolus growled, teeth grit together. His great sword was drawn and held with a white-knuckle grip, the muscles in his neck standing out as he watched the one-sided fight.

"You need to get me close enough for me to purge it, even just enough for him to think straight." Lunafreya answered, her palm held out again with her next shield to protect Noctis.

"Can you even do that?!" Prompto asked, his voice almost squeaking and he coughed into his fist. "I mean this isn't just some random dude. It's a freaking _Astral_!" he threw his hands up. "Also, you're kind of bleeding all over the place…" he trailed off. She had stopped bleeding from her ears, but the steady nosebleed was continuing, staining the front of her clothing after she had dropped her rag to summon her trident and her shields.

"I…" she hesitated, looking up at the black patterns on Titan, with his stuttering words, and the throbbing that accompanied them adding to the mounting pain throughout her body. The adrenaline puling through her was the only thing keeping her from collapsing, and she was sure the rest of this pain was going to catch up to her. "I can push it back." She insisted, righting her shoulders and gripping her trident tighter. "Just help me get close enough."

"Guess that means all this blood is just war paint." Aranea suggested. "Got your back there magic-lady. Let's kick some ass!" Her lance was unsheathed and extended, Ignis stepping up beside her holding his daggers in his hands, Prompto his guns. Crowe shouted her agreement and stepped up beside her charge, slapping her hard on the back and wincing as she was forced to jerk her back by the back of her shirt to keep her from toppling over.

Prompto's guns echoed in the rock-lined hole they were in, and was enough to cause Titan to halt his attack on Noctis, attention turned to the rest of his retinue.

"If you're gonna make Noct prove his worth then judge him by the people loyal to him!" he shouted with the large blue eye trained on him, though his own vision was stuck on the protruding crystal and the fluids weeping from the ruined eye socket. Prompto winced, curling his lip and holding out both his guns to fire off two more shots. Lunafreya looked for her chance, wondering how she could get close enough to Titan to attempt any degree of healing against the blight. _Could Noct warp me while his friends keep Titan's focus?_ She pondered for a moment before settling on that plan. She wiped the back of her hand under her nose, looking down to find she was very much still bleeding, groaning and moved to step towards Noctis only to find it sent a pulse of agony through her body, shooting up her legs, through her back and down her arms until it rendered her hands numb, causing her to drop her trident. She groaned, feeling the tremor in her limbs as she sank down to her knees, pressing her hands over her eyes, _get up. Get up!_ She groaned, getting herself back to her feet and reassessed the battlefield.

Titan's attention was now less focused, his eye flickering between the six combatants before him, struggling to find any single target. He swiped for Crowe, only for Aranea to slash Titan's arm, leaving an opening for Ignis to throw his daggers, falling back behind Prompto and Gladiolus while Aranea vaulted with her lance to land on Titan's arm, burying her weapon in a chip made in his stony flesh to free Ignis's weapons, flipping backwards to counteract the jerking motion as Titan swung his arm to either shake her off or swat again at Noctis, Lunafreya couldn't tell. Her vision was blurred, and the nonsense of Titan's attempted speech pounded her head, and she groaned, driven to her knees once more. She felt a hand on her shoulder, flinching and looking up at Gentiana's gentle smile.

"Titan calls to the Oracle for help, to purge the darkness from his flesh and mind. To allow him to join with the Crystal's Chosen." She affirmed. Lunafreya nodded, pressing a hand to her knee to stand up,

"Gentiana…" her voice trailed, and she squinted with a new throb. She turned her attention back to the battle at hand, "We will do this. The Oracle and her Prince." she called her trident, not sure when she had let it vanish. She wiped a hand under her nose again, trying to push back the concern at how much blood she felt or the crimson smear on the back of her fist as she charged into the fray."Noct!" she called. He turned, and his expression widened,

"Luna!" his tone jarred her, and she threw a shield over herself, wincing with the impact of Titan's fist coming down on top of it, deflecting it just enough not to crush her as her shield shattered. Noctis had run up to her by then, reaching down to pull her to her feet,

"Are you crazy?!" He asked, then warped them away from another attempted blow, nearly colliding with Crowe. The woman yelped at their sudden appearance, but recovered quickly to keep her attention on Titan who appeared to be growing increasingly frustrated at the difficulty of so many targets. Both royals winced as they shared a deep throb in their heads, the pounding of the once-words replaced with garbled nonsense neither could make any clarity of. Lunafreya wished she was back on the sidelines with Gentiana, for just a moment, so she could ask the other messenger what it was Titan was trying to ask. _Titan calls to the Oracle for help_ she was reminded, and bit down on her bottom lip.

"Noct you have to warp me up there. I need to purge this blight from Titan."

"Okay, I ask you again. Are you crazy?!" he huffed, grabbing her and warping away as the mad Astral seemed to have decided on focusing on the two of them rather than madly swat at the dashing humans chipping away at his stone-flesh.

"It's the only way we can do this!" she answered him. She tried to evaluate their surroundings, and saw black liquid on the ground. She squinted, trying to identify it, when another small blotch of black appeared. "Titan's bleeding?" she asked to herself, and focused her attention on the others. Their actions were far less haphazard than she had thought. They were spread out, but it seemed they were focusing their collective attention to a particular area between Titan's thumb and forefinger. _They're trying to sever the tendon_ she realized. Crowe was throwing her fireballs at Titan's eye, the bring lights forcing him to squint and growl in frustration. Ignis was throwing his daggers, creating an apparent target marker for Aranea to vault with her lance, burying her weapon in the deepening chip from their collective efforts before kicking free her counterpart's weapons, jerking her lance and leaping away. This alternated with Prompto aiming his guns in the growing gap, and Gladiolus pirouetting to swing his sword in great archs while bellowing _Tempest!_ And Prompto quickly teasing him for _sounding like an anime character_.

"Hey! We both know you love anime even more than I do!" he shouted defensively. Gladiolus grunted, but failed to provide a counter-argument. "Crowe, can you throw more fireballs?" he asked instead.

"You have an ether up your ass? I've had two and can feel myself wearing out again! Throwing continuous magic isn't as easy as you think!" She answered, biting down on her lip and hurling another ball of flame towards Titan, the Astral squinting to protect his eye as the fire impacted the growing soot coated stone surrounding his eye.

"Shit…" Gladiolus cursed. "Ignis you got one?" he hollered, the man reaching into a pocket and throwing a can. Gladiolus reached to catch it but his fingers tipped it off course, and it landed on the ground and rolled away. Crowe cursed as well and chased after the drink, realizing the can was cracked and leaking. She scoopped it up, closing her lips around the crack in the can and opening it, chugging it quickly. She let out a belch, tossing the empty can aside,

"Gods it's like that year of college I did." She mumbled after a belch. She summoned another fireball, and resumed her barrage. "Wonder if I'll sleep for a week from exhaustion or stay awake for a month because of caffeine!"

"They're growing tired Noct, our time is limited." Lunafreya declared, looking up at him. She could see the nervous expression in his face, and steeled herself. She had to be the confident one. _Show him you believe you can do this._ She told herself.

"I don't know how much more I can warp…" he admitted, halting to catch his breath.

"I don't think that will be much of a problem" she pointed at how Titan had switched his focus away from the blurs of blue, and back to the five that were determined to slice his hand wide open.

"Okay." Noctis answered her, his voice lacking conviction. _Be more confident Noct. You need to earn the will of the Astrals._ She felt his arm wrap around her waist and eyed his friends, waiting for their cycle of attacks to begin anew, warping just after one of Crowe's fireballs. They landed first on Titan's wrist, the crook of his elbow, his shoulder, then atop his head. The Astral shook his head as soon as they landed, and Noctis tried to bury his sword for leverage, but barely made a chip in the stone. "Hurry," he pleaded with Lunafreya, unsure how long they could stay up there until they were knocked down, or burned by a stray fireball.

A powerfully acidic burn roared through Lunafreya's veins. The sudden sensation caused her to sneeze, a splash of blood staining her shoes before she could clamp her hands over her mouth. She fell to her knees, forcing her hands away from her face, and placed them on the ground. Her vision was growing blurred, and her stomach lurched. The bile in the back of her throat threatened to upturn her most recent meal but she shook her head and placed her palms flat on Titan's head and began to whisper her prayer. The throbbing, desperate, agonizing throbbing began to fade.

 _Little… Oracle…_

The throbs began to pull back into words.

 _Purge… star... To purge our star…_

She poured her magic, her whispering prayer morphing into a chant, the warm blood from her nose dripping onto the backs of her hands, Noctis's voice pleading from somewhere near her.

 _To purge our star. Join with the Crystal. The little Prince must prove his worth._

Titan's eye shot open, his palm slammed into the ground, but did not lift again.

 _You have these little companions. They are strong. They chipped through my flesh. You climbed my body. The Little Oracle has placed their hands upon me. The Crystal… has chosen well._

Lunafreya nearly laughed, slumping over. Her eyes flicked about to search for Noctis, his presence detected when he lifted her into his arms and warped back to the ground in stages. He nearly dropped her when he got to the ground with his third warp, falling to his knees. Pain exploded in his head, and he looked up at Titan, whose gaze bored into him as the pulsing throbs echoed into every cell in his skull. The webs of black seemed to have drawn back from Lunafreya's light, but it was beginning to crawl up his limbs again.

 _Join… the others… Little Prince_

Blue light sparked throughout Titan. The others had ceased their combat, rushing to the royals, but their eyes were focused on Titan. He exhaled hard, everyone wincing and covering their faces from the hot dust blown about. The meteor began to shift on his back, and both royals heaved heavy breaths as the deep throbbing faded away from their heads. Lunafreya gasped at the sudden cessation of pain, panting at the shock. They watched as Titan faded with their agony, silence filling the space of the relentless patterns.

"Uh guys…" Prompto worried, and pointed up, "I think the meteor is coming down."


	31. RPGs

Noctis winced at the way Crowe jerked Lunafreya to her feet, but there was no time for slow gentle prodding to make sure she could regather her senses. He felt Gladiolus give him the same treatment, jerking him to his feet and dashing in the direction from which they came. A cursory glance up reminded him of the large leap they had taken to get down here.

"Is it just me or is it somehow getting even hotter?" Noctis asked, trying to make better sense of their surroundings. The pact with Titan had vanished the pain consuming every cell in his head, but in its place was a sensation of having been swimming for too long. His muscles ached, his chest burned, and his whole body pleaded for rest. He looked back at Lunafreya who was supported by Crowe on one side, Aranea stepping up beside her to support her on her left. Blood stained the front of his shirt and he tried to force his concern aside as his gaze turned up at the meteor falling in slow motion.

"We have to get back up there." Noctis insisted. "I can warp everyone up." He declared.

"Do you retain the magic for that? We gave Luna the last of our Ethers." Ignis answered back.

"We don't have time for debate," Gladiolus barked. He stepped up next to the sharp incline and cupped his palms together, "I'll hoist everyone up. Noct, you warp me up. As soon as you get up there run like hell, path is too damn narrow to patiently wait for each other." He instructed. Noctis stared at his friend, surprised to hear a tactical decision come from his shield. He shifted his stance, pacing in place to keep the sensation from leaving his legs and looked down when his feet began to feel far too warm.

"Oh shit." He cursed, and saw the black webbing that had curled around Titan and the meteor was spreading as the great mass fell, glowing cracks appearing as the ground gave way to the stress, steam hissing through microfissures in the stone. He stepped back, feeling slightly stuck to the spot and curled his leg, looking down at the distortion of his partially melted shoes. "Move!" he barked.

"Won't hear me complain!" Prompto stepped forward and accepted Gladiolus's hoist upwards, spinning around quickly to hold a hand out, "I'll help Luna up then we'll run like you said, okay?" he shouted down.

"I…" she feigned a protest at this decision but was pushed forward by the two women holding her up. She stepped into Gladiolus's cupped hands, yelping as he tossed her upwards and she reached out quickly for Prompto's extended hand. She grunted when she impacted the stone, sneezing another clot of blood at the way the sharp exhale tickled her nose. She reached up with her free hand for the edge of the cliff and Prompto grabbed that wrist and groaned as he pulled her up, staggering away from the edge.

"Go! We'll catch up, like Gladio said we'll get all congested if we try to wait for eachother path's too narrow." She bit her lip, taking a hesitant step backwards. _I can't leave everyone behind._ She tried to protest, but the words stuck in her throat. She stepped back, and found herself noticing the same stickiness as Noctis before her, the tread on her sneakers warped by the extreme heat in the stone beneath her feet. She pressed a palm to the rock wall beside her and hissed, jerking her hand back.

"How are you not getting burned?" she asked the blond man as she watched him lean back down against the rock to reach down for the next person,

"Fix me up later, deal?" he provided in answer. She nodded, hesitating for a moment more as he reached down to pull Crowe up next and she ran. The tread on her sneaker had warped and smoothed between the heat and her run, making the trek back even more difficult as she struggled to keep her balance on the narrow tipped ledge with now improper footwear. She threw a glance over her shoulder and saw Crowe coming behind her making a _keep going!_ gesture at her, and she bit her lip again, running a hand under her nose and feeling the sticky warmth recoat the back of her hand.

Her head felt simultaneously heavy and light, the edges of her vision beginning to close in. Her narrowed vision left her heart in her throat, finding keeping her bearings between the burning rock and the lethal plunge more difficult with each step. _Keep going Luna. If you slow down you slow everyone down behind you. Don't trap them in this oven._ She chided herself. But a few more steps and she staggered, falling down to her hands and knees. She drew her hands back quickly, shaking them in the air as she exhaled sharply. She tried to find her balance to pick herself back up, but was no longer sure which direction was up.

"Sparkles! Come on we gotta move!" Crowe sounded far away, and she tried to figure out where she was standing. She turned her head, and started to lean to the side. The collar of her shirt jerked around her neck causing her to gag at the sudden pressure, and an arm wrapped around her chest and she was lifted up. She tried to place her feet below her, and found the source of the voice shouting in her ear.

"Crowe…" she mumbled.

"You're in bad shape… come on." She pulled Lunafreya's arm around her shoulder and tried to hold her tighter. They were perilously close to the edge, Lunafreya unable to set her left foot down as Crowe hugged the burning wall causing her to periodically gasp or curse when bare skin brushed against it.

"Everyone?"

"Behind us, move it girl." They followed the path and came up to the first ledge they had jumped from. "This one isn't as high, I'll push you up just don't die on me until I can get my ass up there. Will make me look bad." She instructed. "Like with Gladio." She instructed. "Can you stand for a second?"

"Umm… I. I think?" She tried to keep her balance, but wavered. She grunted in frustration, and set modesty aside to lift her shirt over her head and wrapped it around her hand so she could press it against the wall. Even through the fabric she could feel warmth. She wanted to look at the meteor, see how close to the ground it was. But any movenement of her eyes or head left her spinning and she was forced to squint.

" _Luna!_ " Crowe snapped. She flinched at the harsh tone, but was glad for it as she carefully lifted a leg into Crowe's extended palms and let herself be lifted up. She pulled herself against the stone, glad that it was not burning her skin as it had done further done the path.

"You?" she called down,

"I got it." Crowe insisted, leaping up and grasping the ledge, thanking the gods for how much she had her ass kicked during glaive training. She grunted as she finished pulling herself up. She grabbed Lunafreya under her arm and jerked her to her feet, cursing as she lost her balance at how much of a dead weight the woman was becoming. "Come on! Get up!" she urged, "we're a little low on time!" she turned and looked over her shoulder, much of the meteor now obscured and the path behind them blurry with black and red dust. "Oh shit." She cursed. "Sparkles I'm pretty sure that black dust is fucking bad news! Move it!" she pushed her with her shoulder and Lunafreya started to stagger forward.

She half walked, was half-dragged by Crowe as the path slowly widened, Crowe trying to encourage Lunafreya _we're almost there Sparkles! Come on!_ An ache pulsed through her limbs and she felt like she was wearing a lead suit. In spite of the heat she felt a bit cool, wondering when she could put the shirt wrapped around her hand back on.

"Luna!" Noctis's voice came from somewhere behind her, echoing off the stone around them.

"Just get to the car!" Crowe shouted back. "Get all over-protective once we get our asses out of here!" "Everyone make it up?"

"Yeah! We're all here!" he answered her. "Give her to me go get the bike started." He shouted, catching up to her and sliding an arm around Lunafreya to pull her off of Crowe and allow the Shield to charge towards the motorcycle parked behind the Regalia.

"I sure as shit hope she starts or we'll all be getting super cuddly." She commented, fumbling through her pockets for the keys. She mounted the bike, sticking the key in the ignition. As if to mock her it stuttered for a moment, and she cursed, slamming her fist against the engine case. "start you son of a bitch!" she turned the key again, wondering if it was overheating. "Noct!" she shouted, seeing him in the process of pushing a very limp looking Lunafreya into the car. "I might need some ice over here!"

"I haven't gathered any!" he snapped back. "I don't have any vials of ice on me!"

"Shit!" she cursed. "Come on come on." She pleaded, turning the key again. It sputtered, and after a few seconds turned over. "yes! Oh I could kiss you if it wouldn't leave me with lip blisters!" she cheered, lolling her head back. "Blondie! Get on the bike!" she shouted to Prompto. The man simply followed her instructions, running over and hopping onto the back of the mortorcycle as Aranea scrambled into the back of the car after Noctis, Gladiolus taking passenger and Ignis starting the Regalia. It started on the first try, prompting Crowe to once again accuse the motorcycle of taunting her before kicking it into gear and pulling away from the rising dust.

The rumble of the Regalia followed her, a high-pitched whine carrying through the narrow rock corridor as Ignis pushed the car to its limits. She checked the mirror on her handlebar, seeing how obscured the path behind them was by dust. She could no longer see the meteor, but the air became blissfully more breathable as the heat began to dissipate the further away they drove.

"Oh shit we did it! We got out of there!" Prompto cheered from behind her. Noctis watched the same sight as Crowe through the back of the Regalia. He had an arm awkwardly around Lunafreya who was slack against him, mumbling semi-coherently.

"Gods we gotta get her to a hospital guys." He commented. When pushing her into the car he had noticed her missing shirt, but the actual fact of it only struck him as the panic began to subside in his heart. He reached across and began to unwrap the shirt from her hand, grimacing at how damp it felt. Blood stained the once blue material, streaks of pink in her platinum blonde hair. He could see how extensive the odd red rash was across her skin, and he bit down on his lip when the others all immediately agreed to bringing her to the nearest hospital. He unfurled the damp shirt, but quickly changed his mind and balled it up to toss onto the car's floor and slid his own shift off over his head and struggled to dress her in it, her sluggish movements only making him worry worse.

"I'll… be okay." She insisted, "I just need. I just need a little rest." She tried to protest, not liking the idea of going to a hospital. She didn't want people near her with needles, her nose invaded by the smell of bleach, alcohol, sterile plastic and metal. She squinted away memories and a new wave of lightheadedness, whining as she pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead leaving a light print.

"You need a doctor Luna. None of us is going to just shove a potion down your throat and call it a day." Noctis insisted. His heart rate that had begun to settle picked back up again, and he could feel that dull ache in his muscles and a burning that felt like it went down to the bone. _Once we get her into the hospital I can nap for the next three days._ He tried to promise himself. Even the idea of passing out in a stiff chair next to a hospital bed sounded like a tempting luxury.

"You were badass back there, let us take care of you now." Aranea added. "You don't need to keep up this warrior princess bit now that the fight's over." she reached across Noctis to give Lunafreya a light punch on the arm. Gladiolus began to hum something from the front seat, and Noctis straightened up as he recognized it and laughed.

"Dude! I freaking loved Xena!" he shouted,

"Hmm… I never watched." Lunafreya added.

"Oh man Xena, warrior princess? Show was awesome!" Noctis cheered. Then a mental image of Lunafreya in Xena's uniform invaded his mind and he snorted at the idea, and the snort turned into a full laugh when he pictured Crowe in Gabrielle's dress beside her.

"Oh I forgot all about that show." Aranea mused. "I didn't' watch much TV really but that's something I can remember."

"They let it air in Nifleheim?" Gladiolus asked, Aranea immediately rolling her eyes.

"Pick up a book once in a while. It's called pirating." She explained. Gladiolus huffed at the insult,

"I read plenty." He insisted. "And how was I supposed to assume you stole it?" he asked.

"Instead expected the more honorable route from me? Is this a sign you're pulling the stick out of your ass?" she asked.

"Guys!" Noctis snapped, not wanting them to devolve into further argument. The light atmosphere in the car had felt good for the blissful minute they were allowed before the dragoon and Shield went at each other's throats. "Okay so we got our asses out of the metoer it seems. How's the Regalia? Overheated?" He asked.

"She is performing quite optimally." Ignis insisted.

"Okay nearest hospital?" Noctis asked.

"We can either inquire about local hunter camps or head directly for Lestallum." Ignis offered as their choices. Noctis chose the latter, knowing the city wasn't terribly far away and would likely have more advanced medical supplies. He wondered if their plan to remain incognito would blow up in their faces the moment the battered group showed up at a Lestallum in their pathetic state dragging a blood-soaked oracle with them. Said woman was leaning against Noctis, her breathing had slowed as she too began to relax with the panic ebbing away.

"Honestly… just rest and some Ether. I should be right as rain." She tried to insist again, getting four immediate disagreements, and the promise that their other two companions would also insist she get some damn help. Up ahead of them Crowe pulled the motorcycle over to the side of the road, sticking her leg out and looking over her shoulder as the car pulled up beside them.

"Okay now that we survived that nightmare-inducing hellscape, what's the plan?" she asked as soon as Gladiolus had rolled his window down far enough for her to bark in their direction.

"We are bringing Lady Lunafreya to a hospital in Lestallum. The young woman clearly needs medical care." Ignis explained.

"Don't you protest back there!" Gladiolus shifted in his seat to glare at her.

"She still conscious?" Crowe asked, grimacing and leaning forward to try and get a better look through the tinted windows. Gladiolus turned around again, soft words exchanged between him and Noctis before he turned back around and shook his head.

"Sleeping." He explained.

"The Prince still in one piece? The last covenant kicked his ass too." Crowe asked.

"Yeah pretty surprised to see them both still, like, okay-ish. Or. Umm, not dead." Prompto agreed.

"Yeah." Noctis agreed, knitting his brows together. "Kind of weird. Maybe just suicidal-thought inducing pain was Titan's cost, and Ramuh just likes to hit things with lightning." He suggested. No one could really provide an argument to his point and decided to worry later. The rush of adrenaline was easing out of their systems, and the collective fatigue was beginning to show in the way everyone's posture began to slack, voices were slower.

"Do you know where the hospital in Lestallum is?" Crowe asked.

"Pull over." Lunafreya's voice interrupted, startling Noctis whom she was resting against in a semi-sleeping state.

"Luna?"

"Pull over…" she repeated, pressing a hand over her stomach and the back of her other fist pressed over her mouth. Ignis guided the car onto the shoulder of the road, and it had hardly come to a stop when the door slung open and Lunafreya staggered out, retching onto the pavement. Noctis scrambled out after her, leaning over to rub her back, and wincing at the look on the ground.

"Shit… I mean I know ebony is supposed to be really good coffee but you don't need to go eating the damn grounds." Gladiolus tried to tease as he rounded the car, his tone lacking any humor.

"Is… is that the blight?" Noctis asked, his voice quivering as she retched up more black-brown fluid. But she was quick to shake her head, holding a hand up in the air to forestall him while she retched again. She eventually stopped, righting herself and panting to catch her breath from the effort of vomiting, stepping backwards so she could lean against the car and let out a sharp exhale.

"Oh goodness…" she moaned, wincing at the burning in her sinuses and sniffling a bit. "It's likely from the bloody nose." She started to explain. "Swallowed a lot of blood," she nodded at the emesis on the ground, "it looks like that."

"You puke up blood that often?" Gladiolus asked. Noctis grimaced, tracking his Shield who ducked his head into the truck of the car and rifling through some things, and glad the man had asked the question that he himself was wrestling with. He knew she disliked when he fussed over her too much, and had been hesitant to press her any further than he already had.

"I'm a healer." She clarified, stifling a whimper and pressing the back of her fist to her mouth again, squinting hard to try and fight the wave of nausea but retched up watery dark colored bile. "I see many a condition." Noctis noted a flicker in her expression, and a wave of nausea struck him as well as he knotted up, remembering the Nifleheimer soldier beating her as a teenager, and wondered how often such punishments were rained down on her for her to be so familiar with this particular odd side of a bad nosebleed.

"Here," Gladiolus had fished a towel out from his belongings in the trunk, insisting that it was fine if she soiled it up as much as needed. She smiled and gave him a small thank you, wiping her face and sniffling.

"We should hurry up." Noctis suggested, but she shook her head.

"No. I don't think going to Lestallum is wise. We should go somewhere more discreet, perhaps a hunter hub. I imagine hunters are injured frequently and at least minimal medical facilities would be necessary for such a profession to exist." She explained.

"You need like, real medical care." He countered, only to get her shaking her head again.

"We need to remain under the radar. I highly doubt we could get through Lestallum and through a hospital unnoticed. What if news of our whereabouts reached Nifleheim? What do you think they would do to Lestallum in their mad rush to get to us?" she asked, sniffling and wincing at the way it made her sinuses burn. Noctis met her concerned gaze, his own brows knit together in a mirror of her own expression, grimacing and biting down on his tongue.

"I…" he wanted to counter, but he couldn't find a proper argument. She was right. Images of his home burned behind his eyelids, his body stiffening as he remembered looking out over the water while Insomnia burned. It overlapped for a bare moment with his memory of Lestallum and he shook his head to keep the mental image from fully taking form. "Fine. But if the hunters think you need a real hospital… then you should really go."

"If they insist I need the care of a hospital we can discuss the risks again at that time. It is not merely my wellbeing we are debating, but the safety of the citizens of Lestallum." She answered back hardly waiting for Noctis to finish speaking. She winced again, squinting her eyes and pressing the back of her fist over her mouth, a belch coming out in place of further black emesis. "Oh Gods! Excuse me… how embarrassing…" her pale face flushed pink, and she felt the burning extend to her ears at the light chuckle coming from Noctis and the way Crowe pat her hard on the back,

"Damn! I give that one a six!" the Shield laughed.

"Have you ever even heard a belch before?" Gladiolus quickly cut in, "That was barely a four!"

"Okay you have to take into account how tiny she is, that sound from you would have been like, a two. But from her that's a six. Easy." She argued. Gladiolus shifted the weight onto one leg, crossing his arms as he stared out the corner of his eye clicking his tongue as if deep in thought,

"Hmm true."

"Perhaps we must take into account this mass-to-decibel ratio when discussing the intensity of a burp." Ignis added. "We can mull over equations while we drive the Lady to the closest hunter hub." He added. He asked for Crowe's assistance in reviewing their map for the closest spot, settling upon a camp that was about fifteen miles out from Lestallum. Feeling reassured that they would be much closer to the city, Noctis was willing to cave to Lunafreya's admittedly prudent decision to forego the better resourced hospital in order to reduce the risk of a Nifleheimer attack.

Lunafreya side-stepped away from the Regalia, swaying on her feet. She tried to reach her arm out at the door to right herself, but felt her balance tipping away. She grunted when her back collided with Noctis's chest, flushing that she was finding herself in such a state. She grunted, arcing her back to try and push herself back to a standing position but only elbowed Noctis in the stomach, almost causing him to knock her over when he grunted and bent forward. His arm gripped around her and tugged her to keep her from falling against the car,

"Ah! Careful…" he grunted, wincing at the new ache in his stomach. She whispered an apology, letting him help her right herself. Standing straight her head felt like it was suddenly filled with air and she had to squint and press the heel of her hand into her forehead to keep her from swaying against.

"I should sit back down." She suggested, biting the inside of her lip. She reached for the door and gave it a tug, grimacing at how heavy her arm felt from the simple action. She groaned, climbing into the car with Noctis and Aranea on either side of her. Ignis pulled the car back onto the road and continued driving in the direction of Lestallum, eventually pulling onto a dirt road with a broken sign that had been replaced by a spray-painted stop-sign. The passengers in the belt-free Regalia grunted as they were jostled against each other on the uneven road for the remaining twenty minutes of their drive until they finally pulled into the small designated parking area of the hunter hub, primarily occupied by motorcycles, a chocobo, and one bicycle.

"Gods, finally." Aranea complained as she nearly threw herself out of the Regalia. Gladiolus was equally impatient to get out of the car. Noctis moved slower, feeling stiff from the discomfort of the ride, turning to hold a hand out to help Lunafreya stand up. She gave him a small smile of thanks, gripping his hand firmly as she got up, whimpering for a moment.

"How you feeling?" he asked her, his brows wrinkled together.

"Nauseus, but I doubt I have much left in my stomach to let up." She answered, and upon seeing his expression quickly cut back in "But all right. Honestly. I think some rest and I'll be okay." She kept her tone low, not wanting to be fussed over again by the rest of the crew.

"Gods not sure I'll ever regain feeling in my ass…" Crowe complained, rubbing hers as she walked up to the rest of the group. "Speaking of asses, how's my favorite pain in mine?" she asked, lightly punching Lunafreya in the arm. She flinched, reaching up to lightly rub the spot, offering her Shield a smile and a shrug,

"A bit of rest and I'll be well." She was leaning against the Regalia, a bit embarrassed to admit to the dizziness swarming in her head. Her vision was blurred at the edges. The effort of standing was bringing a heavy ache to her limbs. "Enough of me. Noctis, are you well?" she inquired.

"Feel like I've been trampled by a chocobo." He admitted. "The Astrals clearly don't like me much. Maybe the crystal made a mistake." He grumbled.

"Yeah here we all thought the crystal's chosen would be some supreme hero, a mortal god upon the earth, the beacon of peace and light to walk hand-in-hand with the Oracle of Light," Crowe recited, punctuating her words, "and here we get saddled with emo prince." she clucked her tongue, shaking her head.

"Gotta agree with you for once." Gladiolus added. Noctis groaned and rolled his eyes, and then jut his lip and narrowed his eyes when Lunafreya giggled at the banter.

"Not you too!"

"Oh come now, it is funny… we are hardly the heroes of lore one would expect to read about in books." She quipped, though her tone was low. She tried to step away from the Regalia but Noctis quickly slung an arm around her waist before she had the chance to lose her balance. She wanted to insist she was okay, but could tell by the heaviness in her limbs and the ache throbbing her legs that any attempt to walk unsupported was going to end with her in the dirt.

"Come on… let's find some help." Noctis suggested, and she simply nodded. They walked away from the car and made slow progress towards the first building. Upon entering it a tall man with dirty blonde hair and week-old stubble on his face looked from his desk, eyes widening and color draining from his face.

"Holy shit! Someone get the medic!" he shouted at a door behind him.

"Oh please don't make such a fuss over me." Lunafreya held up her free hand, and upon seeing the tried blood on her palms and the backs of her hands gave herself a proper look. The front of her shirt was stained with blood, drops of it on her pants, on her shoes. The marks of bruises and broken capillaries hadn't had the time to fade. Despite her warning her attempt to step towards the concerned hunter ended in her stumbling as the dizziness washed over her, her words slurring as she attempted to state her assurances that she would be okay with some rest.

"What happened to… is this the Oracle?!" the man exclaimed once he got close enough to make out her features. "That means-"

"Please keep it down." Noctis interrupted quickly. _Should I tell him we're trying to stay away from the Empire? What if mentioning it makes him look for the bounty that must exist on our heads_. He worried. And then couldn't help wondering how much he and his crew were worth. Was it enough for them to betray their own country?

"Sorry…" the man apologized, "What happened my Lady?" he asked again, this time bowing at her, the gesture making her frown. Another man burst through the doors at that point, a fury of red hair sticking out in every direction.

"What's wrong?!" He asked, then turned to notice the royal retinue. "Oh my gods!" he bent down bow as well, "Lady Lunafreya!"

"Please stand. And it was a bad nosebleed." Lunafreya provided, trying to give the two men a genuine smile as they stood back up.

"From what? A hammer to the face?" the blond asked, then blanched again. "Sorry I-"

"Please you can talk plainly with me." she insisted. "I know I seem to be in… quite the state," she answered after a brief pause. "But I am not as bad as I look." She felt Noctis's grip on her tighten, but she kept her gaze firmly before her, sure that she could practically hear the disapproving grimacing that likely pulled on Noctis's face.

"Stop downplaying Sparkles. She bled all over the place, barfed up some blood, and look at her arms." Crowe added, Lunafreya staring at her for a moment debating the wisdom of countering her explanation but then remembered how much blood was soaking her clothing and thought better of it. The man looked at her arms, though his expression didn't change as he didn't seem to know what he was supposed to be noticing.

"Well come on… let's get you lying down first." The blond man suggested, "Gunther, please get San." He asked. The red-head vanished through the door again before the blond walked around the desk. "Let me show you to the medic's tent. San's taking a break, she had a long morning but she'll meet you there once Gunter gets her." He explained. Noctis supported Lunafreya as they started making their way over to another small building. She pressed the back of her fist to her mouth and whimpered,

"I need a bin…" she mumbled, squinting hard to try and control the wave of nausea. Her limbs were feeling even heavier, her head lighter. She turned her head to look for an outdoor rubbish bin and her vision closed in around her. Noctis grunted as he tried to catch her and guide her into a gentle fall to the ground,

"Luna!" he shouted.

"Oh shit." Crowe cursed over the various concerned whimpers or exclamations. The blond man leading them spun around, kneeling down beside the unconscious woman as Noctis tried to support her in his arms, his legs and lower back throbbing from the sudden weight of her dropping.

"We really gotta get her to San." He said. Noctis nodded, trying not to panic and picked her up, getting to his feet with a wince. A loud echo of pain roared through his body with the effort and he staggered in his attempt not to drop her as a result of it. He squinted, shaking his head and looked up to see the blond man staring at him with another pale-faced grimace. They all followed into the building, Noctis letting Lunafreya down on one of three beds in the small building. The other two were occupied.

One man had the blankets pulled up to his neck, a small line of black poking out through the tip of it and Noctis winced, recalling the mangled bodies of the men at the Imperial research base. The other had apparently thrashed about recently. Her hair stuck to her face with a sheen of sweat dampening her bangs. A deep red flush stained her otherwise pale face with reddened cheeks. She was lying on her side, having fallen asleep after whatever fit caused her to throw her blankets to the floor. Her shoulder-length hair had amassed into a mess of tangles, her clothes either wrinkled or bunched up in places. The man who guided them into this room excused himself for a moment to rush over to her, picking the blanket up from the floor and draping it back over her.

"Like I said, San had a bad morning." He explained.

"Noctis, I will be outside. Would you like me to call the King and update him on recent events?" he asked, standing rigid at the foot of the male's bed. Aranea was beside him, her eyes flickering between the two beds, letting out rapid huffs of air through her nose before she took a deep breath, closing her eyes to let it out very slowly. The noise apparently prompted Ignis to do the same, as he also took a deep breath after finishing his question.

"I should really call him myself," he answered, his eyes downcast on the unconscious Lunafreya.

"You watch over the Lady, I will update our King and pass on your wish to call him once you have the opportunity." He suggested. Noctis paused, and nodded at his advisor, willing to place his trust in him. Ignis left, Aranea close behind, the others all watching them, Gladiolus elbowing Prompto,

"I think our Iggy's got himself a shadow. Should we let him take the tent tonight?" he mused aloud, getting a nervous snicker from Prompto.

"I'm gonna wait outside with them. Pretty small in here and that red-head is going to be here any second with that San person. Keep us all updated on Lady Luna, okay Noct?" he asked, getting a nod from the Prince before he left. He had to side-step once outside to dodge Gunther and the petite woman following him.

"Hello, I'm Sandrina." The woman held out her hand, gripping Noctis's with a firm grip and shaking hard. "please, bring me up to speed on what happened." She asked, gesturing down at Lunafreya. There was another pause as Noctis debated how much to tell this woman,

"She got a really bad nosebleed." He answered. Sandrina looked down, and clicked her tongue, bending down and lifting one of Lunafreya's arms,

"Does she take medicine? Like a blood thinner?" she asked. "her arms are covered in petechiae, blood all over her clothes…" she mumbled.

"Umm… she threw up what looked like coffee grounds. She said it was because she probably swallowed blood from the nosebleed." Noctis added.

"Not unheard of." She answered, almost absentmindedly. "When did she loose consciousness?"

"Only a few minuets ago." Sandrina clucked her tongue again, reaching out to pull down Lunafreya's bottom eyelid. The stimulus was enough to cause her to blink hard, expression wincing slightly and a moan to escape her throat.

"Well well, welcome back. Bet you feel like a million-gil, huh?" she asked. Lunafreya stretched her face for a moment, eyes blinking rapidly as she looked around her,

"Why am I… in a bed?" she asked.

"You passed you honey," Sandrina answered her. "You lost a lot of blood." She stated. "I mean, I can find most of it on your clothes unfortunately that doesn't help your situation much." She explained.

"May I sit back up please?" Lunafreya asked.

"Lying down is better." the medic insisted.

"I fear I might vomit again soon." She explained, cheeks turning pink. Sandrina then helped her to sit up on the bed. Lunafreya looked up at the woman with wide eyes, Noctis noticing the flare in her nostrils as she tried to retain control of her breathing. He reached out and gripped her hand, the gesture causing her to flinch and switch her attention to him. Sandrina took note of her body language, and withdrew her hands for a moment,

"Did this just happen suddenly?" she asked, gesturing at the blood on her front. Lunafreya knit her brows for a moment, then they shot up when she heard the context behind her question.

"I was not struck in the face if that is your concern." She answered quickly.

"So what happened?" she inquired. "Are you on any meds or anything?"

"It was sudden, no I am not on any medication." Lunafreya answered. She mulled around her head the idea of talking about the covenants, and wondered if they were common knowledge or everyone simply dismissed the Crystal as myth. _Everyone just accepts the blight as a fact of our world._

"When did this rash start?" she asked, gesturing to the small red dots peppering Lunafreya's otherwise pale skin. She looked down at her rash, turning her arms and wincing as se realized the extent of it. She found it curious that it neither hurt, nor itched.

"The same time as the nosebleed." She assumed, though she hadn't taken much notice of it.

"Did you realize the blood vessels in your eyes broke too?" The medic clicked her tongue and wrapped a sphygmomanometer around her arm, pressing the stethoscope to the crook her elbow and inflated it, asking her to be still for a moment. She inflated it, it deflated. Sandrina's brows knit together and she cocked her head, reinflating the device and letting it deflate slowly. She huffed air out her nose, standing back up after unwrapping the cuff from Lunafreya's arm.

"Your blood pressure is low." She answered. "I'd like you to stay lying down in bed. I think we need to do some blood tests but that is… more complicated than it sounds." She sighed, placing a hand on her hip as her eyes went distant for a moment. "We need to call Lestallum to send over someone to draw some blood. I'm worried you lost a lot of blood with this… nosebleed of yours, and I'm wondering what's caused this."

"I feel quite a bit better than earlier." Lunafreya tried to insist, and felt Noctis's grip on her hand tighten enough that she looked up at him, trying to keep her expression impassive as she stared up into his frown. "Honestly." She added. _It's not entirely a lie._ She tried to reassure herself, as she did indeed feel better lying down. The ache throughout her body had eased, and her head no longer felt filled with water. Though she knew if she attempted to stand that would quickly change.

"I'm going to place calls. I think it's important that you rest, and you stay in that bed. I don't want you standing up and passing out on me." Sandrina instructed. She scribbled a bit in the notepad she had brought into the room, and turned to check up on the other beds in the small room. Noctis sat down on the edge of Lunafreya's bed.

"Instead of having her call someone from Lestallum why don't we just take you up there? It sounds like they can't do everything they need to." Noctis requested again. Lunafreya sighed, not wishing to belabor their debate again and shook her head.

"We've been over this." She replied. Her eyes looked up at Gladiolus leaning against the wall between a shelving unit and a chair, Crowe having claimed it for herself. She opened her mouth to suggest she wouldn't feel slighted should the pair of shields wish to join the others outside and closed her mouth, attention returning back to Noctis.

"Yeah. Sorry." He mumbled. "Well try to get some more rest until we know what they want to do." Noctis suggested. He reached an arm behind him to rub his lower back, wincing at the ache there that was crawling down his leg. An old scar sprawled across his back and began to burn, his face curling as he tried to knead the hardened pink skin.

"You should rest too." Lunafreya answered him, brow furrowed as she frowned at his grimace.

"Here, I'll get my lazy ass up." Crowe answered before Noctis could offer the protest she was sure the stubborn man was already forming if the way he quickly righted himself was any indicator. "Not exactly a hotel bed with fluffy pillows but beats sitting on the edge of some cot." She stood up and side stepped, gesturing at the chair. Noctis hesitated for a moment before nodding, dragging the chair closer to the side of the bed. He dropped himself into it, slouching and trying to get himself to settle.

"This is the point where I say I gotta go outside for a smoke. 'Cept I haven't had a cigarette since I puked on one when I was thirteen. So insert some random bullshit excuse while I go outside so I don't look like a shitty Shield." Crowe clapped her hands together, grinning and giving a parting set of thumbs-up, wiggling them at Lunafreya and smiled when she managed to get a chuckle from Lunafreya.

"I'll join ya. Can I bum one of these imaginary butts from you?" Gladiolus asked, tapping his foot and stepping away from the corner he had wedged himself into, stretching his arms above his head for a satisfying pop in his shoulders.

"Yeah, sure." Crowe shrugged, and the pair of Shields walked through the short room and joined their friends outside. Noctis, with his friends outside, turned his attention back to Lunafreya. Her eyes were rimmed with dark circles, half-lidded, nostrils flaring as she breathed a little harder than looked normal for someone resting. He bit down on his lip, swallowing back the multitude of concerned questions swarming around his mind. _She's in a hospital with a doctor looking over her. Calm down man._ He reached a hand out to find hers, giving it a squeeze. A brief smile flickered over her face, but it seemed the urge to sleep was winning over her and he could feel the same desire beginning to take hold in himself.

His eyelids felt heavy, as did his limbs. His body was weighed down by pain, the ache growing as his fear and anxiety began to fade away. He sighed, trying to find a comfortable way to slouch in the small chair that was better suited as an old dining chair than it was a hospital visitor's chair. But it beat sitting up on the edge of her cot, or leaving her side to go sleep in the Regalia. Lunafreya's grip on his fingers began to loosen and his fatigue took over.

Noctis looked down at her and sighed, running a hand through his hair. Still feeling stiff and achy he decided to get up to walk around a little and get the blood in his legs moving around. He reached down and brushed some bangs from her face, testing that she was indeed asleep. He left the small room. Ignis was standing outside with Aranea beside him.

"Hey where is everyone?" he asked, taking a brief look around. Aranea thumbed at Ignis while she shrugged, flicking at the screen of her phone clearly entranced by a game and he was certain he was recognizing the sounds of King's Knight. He cocked his head for a moment before Ignis's voice pulled him back.

"Oh. Gladiolus suggested that we take on a few hunts to replenish our… severely dwindling wallet." He explained. "The Lady?"

"She's sleeping. They did some blood tests so we'll know more later I guess, but it looks like her nose stopped gushing blood everywhere. Need me to come on that hunt? One more sword?" Noctis asked, but the advisor shook his head.

"You stay here with the Lady Lunafreya. I'm concerned the stubborn young woman would find a way to sneak away from this hub to find us should she discover upon waking that you are not beside her." He explained. Noctis chuckled and nodded, eyes downcast. He knew his friend was right, but he still felt a pant of guilt at the idea that his friends would be going off on a potentially dangerous hunt to earn some money while he relaxed.

"Just don't take on anything too crazy." Noctis requested.

"Gladio and Prompto are looking over the available hunts using Crowe's credentials."

"Reasons why I'm worried. Next thing we know they'll pick a hunt to take on the mutant love-child of a behemoth and a zu after it got into some amphetamine warehouse." Noctis rolled his eyes, concerned about the results of Crowe and Gladiolus's combined egos.

"Well pretty sure you and the Lady have earned your rests. You should go back inside and let us worry about our finances. 'Tis my job afterall." Ignis suggested.

"She's sleeping a little and my body hasn't decided if it wants me to walk around or sleep for a month." Noctis replied. "So why don't I do both, walk around a little then go sleep for a mont."

"Pretty sure you could sleep for a month even without pissing off gods." Ignis replied with a sly smirk, earning him a middle finger.

"Ma'am?" Lunafreya's eyes opened, stretching her brows as he flexed the muscles in her face. She felt like the static she would see on her television as a kid when tuned to the wrong station was running throughout her skin, and it was like her bones themselves tripled in weight. She groaned, looking around to try and gain her bearings. The water clouding her mind began to drain away and she saw a young man standing next to her bed. She looked over to the other side and saw Noctis still fast asleep.

"Hmm… yes?" she asked, licking the roof of her mouth and her lips when she heard how croaky her voice was. _I feel like I swallowed a glass of sand._ Her throat burned, as did her eyes. Sleep tugged at the back of her mind begging for her to simply close her eyes again.

"I'm here from Lestallum… to draw some blood." He held up a box that looked like Noctis's fishing tacklebox. She nodded at him, shifting to pull her arm out from under the blankets, holding it out to him. She closed her eyes, wanting to answer sleep's pleading. She felt a brief prick, half-aware that the man had warned her of such. Then the prick vanished, some pressure, then something sticky and she heard him mention something about being finished before pulling her arm back under the covers. She mumbled a small _thank you_. Though she was unsure if the words swam around her head, or if she had somehow managed to say them aloud. She licked her lips one more time and swallowed, blinking several times to try and pry her eyes open and look for any water near her bed, but upon not seeing any let herself drift back to sleep.

"Hey… Luna…" She opened her eyes again, feeling like she had just blinked. She groaned, shifting uncomfortably in the small bed, everything felt too stiff and too heavy. The static sensation in her skin remained, and she shifted herself on her side hoping that the change in position would help it fade. She shifted towards the source of her voice, and saw a sleepy looking Noctis gazing down at her.

"Morning…?" she asked.

"No, only… seven. At night. But they got your blood test results," he pointed over her shoulder and after a moment of confusion Lunafreya shifted back onto her back and saw Sandrina standing on the other side of her bed.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She apologized, but the other woman smiled and held up a palm,

"You're tired, it's okay. So I looked at your blood test results because I told them to rush them over to me. You need a blood transfusion." She blinked, fighting through the fog of her fatigue and she shifted in the bed trying to sit herself up, but almost instantly felt lightheaded and sat back.

"Just rest…" Sandrina insisted. "Luckily when they sent over someone with the blood test results they sent the phlebotomist wit his kit, we need to do more blood tests." She explained. She held out a clipboard with a piece of paper on it, "with your permission I want to test your blood type so we can get the right blood type and start a transfusion." She explained. Lunafreya tried to search her mind for an excuse to politely turn down this treatment option, sure that with some rest she would recover. Her hesitation to grab the pen from Sandrina clued the woman in, "Your numbers were very low, and while your nosebleed appears to have stopped I'm not sure whatever happened is over." She continued. Lunafreya paused for a moment longer before reaching out for the pen, and signing her name on the line marked with an X.

A short time later a young man came in, Lunafreya unsure if it was the man who drew her blood earlier or not, and drew more blood samples before bidding her good day and leaving. She sighed once the medical personnel were gone from the room.

"Everyone is worried about you." Noctis started. She frowned slightly, bringing both her arms back under the blankets but it failed to hide the fact she was shivering from him. "They've been popping in while you were napping." He wondered if her sense of being an outsider had started to fade, realizing that she was surrounded by friends.

"Oh." her brows lifted slightly, and he frowned at the genuine surprise on her face. "You can assure them I am feeling better after some rest."

"And letting these people take care of you." He interrupted, wagging a finger. "No pretending we can get back into the car and drive off to the next crazy task on our real life RPG adventure." He insisted. She knit her brows for a moment,

"RPG?"

"I should revoke your fantasy-lover card." Noctis teased. "Most RPGs are fantasy based. Or the ones I played…" he ambled off for a moment. He gave her a simple explanation, and when he offered to show her how to play one her face lit up,

"I would love that." She smiled, and it reflected onto his face. He leaned over her, planting a kiss upon her lips.

"Get some more rest, I'll find a good one on my phone meanwhile. The old ones are pretty great. Just don't tell Gladio I'm betraying King's Knight." She chuckled again,

"Promise."


	32. Brother

I apologize for the delay. I got extremely stressed and kind of stopped writing and binged a lot of Stardew Valley to deal with it. Bit of a health issue cropped up. I see no reason to play coy, I have hypoglycemia. Which means I have LOW blood sugar. They ruled out diabetes as a cause, and I am currently working with an endocrinologist to discover why this is happening. My sugar gets dangerously low, primarily when I'm sleeping since I'm going 8 hours without eating. This, as you can imagine, freaked me out a bit. I'm okay, I swear. My sister is a dietician so she taught me that raw cornstarch in milk (as delicious as you imagine) will help stabalize your blood sugar for up to 9 hours since it's such a difficult carbohydrate to digest.

I struggled quite a bit with this chapter, doubting myself (even more than) as usual, but I wanted to get it posted. I do hope you enjoy.

(See end for more notes)

* * *

Lunafreya woke up when she felt someone rolling her shoulder. She whined for a moment and blinked to will away her fatigue, looking beside her to see Sandrina standing by her bedside. She shifted in the bed, ignoring the assurances she could remain lying down, insisting she was alright and could use the change in position.

"I have the results of those extra blood tests we drew. I was testing your blood type. You are B-negative, which isn't the most common blood type." She drew a breath and let it out slowly, eyes locked firmly on her clipboard, the arm at her side tapping her pen against her thigh. "Unfortunately, Lestallum Medical Center is experiencing a shortage of B-negative type blood, and O-negative which is our backup emergency choice. This leaves us with a sub-optimal situation here."

"Test me!" Noctis jumped to his feet, Sandrina's eyes finally looking up.

"Please let me finish." Her thumb began to click the pen she was tapping against her leg. "We can give you some vitamin supplements, and recheck your blood levels in a few hours to see if your body is starting to catch up to the blood loss. Noctis's jaw tensed, eyes flickering down to Lunafreya who was nodding. She reached a hand up to tuck some hair behind her ear, rolling a lock between her fingers.

"After you draw more blood is there a shower I may use? The dried blood is making me itchy," she held out her palm, wiggling her fingers slightly. It took several moments for Sandrina to decide on an answer, finally agreeing as long as she didn't attempt to walk anywhere unescorted. She provided simple directions after Noctis promised to walk her to the shower, resulting in his cheeks heating up.

"I mean, to help her get there… you said not to-"

"As long as she doesn't collapse and crack her head open on my watch I don't care who helps her to a shower." Sandrina cut him off, scribbling something on her clipboard and leaving the pair of royals alone.

"Did you find one of those RPG games you were talking about?" Lunafreya asked, scooting over to the edge of the small bed. Noctis stood up and held out a hand to her, which she accepted and let him help her stand up. She wavered slightly once upright, pressing the heel of her free hand to her forehead.

"You okay?" he asked, wrapping an arm behind her back, wincing a bit. She nodded, blinking rapidly and stood a little straighter.

"Yes, I just got a bit dizzy from standing so quickly." She admitted. She stepped away from the bed and made no motion to push Noctis's arm away from her. She squinted briefly when they opened the door expecting to be blinded from a sudden flash of light, but upon stepping outside relaxed them and knit her brows together. "How long have I been sleeping? It's dark." She remarked, looking up. The sky was clear, and she mulled over the idea of asking Noctis to stargaze with her after her shower. Though she knew that he would likely encourage her to rest, and the medic Sandrina would chase her back into the bunk if it came to it.

"Oh hey it stirs!" Crowe's voice startled her, Lunafreya turning to see the retinue were all hovering outside of the medical bunk. She flushed, knitting her brows together. "How you feeling?"

"In one piece I suppose." She answered with a shy smile.

"Ya know, I gotta admit. Seeing the holy Oracle that was always plastered on the Nifhleheim channels in a man's shirt and covered in dried blood is the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life." Aranea commented. "I think you've officially earned your badass membership card." She held out a hand with a thumbs up and gave an exaggerated wink.

"Surprised Noct is letting you get up instead of sitting on you to make sure you rest." Gladiolus commented. Lunafreya shrugged again, and then tilted her head in the direction she was going to walk,

"I need a shower." She answered, and looked to Ignis. "Do you have that castile soap in the car?" she asked.

"Indeed my Lady. I'll go fetch it for you." He answered her. She tried to protest but he waved and insisted it was alright.

"You stop vomiting like something from a horror movie?" Crowe asked.

"So tactful." Gladiolus rolled his eyes, Prompto snickering from where he was sitting on the ground beside him.

"Imagine if we told the tabloids that the Oracle was baring up black stuff? We'd all be burned alive!" He added.

"I've stopped vomiting." She answered, shifting her weight slightly to let Noctis support her more. Her legs were beginning to ache and the static was returning to her limbs while her head grew light. She started to doubt her ability to remain upright in a shower. She wiggled her fingers to try and ease some of the itching in her palm. "Hoping a shower will help me feel a bit refreshed."

"Cleanse the daemon!" Crowe barked, jerking her arm in an arcing motion to mime splashing her with an imaginary container. She laughed a bit at her Shield, shaking her head.

"I thought you were going to keep my inner daemon a secret?" she asked, cocking her head.

"Shower sounds like a good idea. I feel like I've been hit by a bus and I didn't even do half the cool badass things you and Noct were doing. I call dibs on second shower!" Prompto declared and raised his arm, waving his hand around. They called in a circle to take turns for their shower, Ignis being told he was going to be the last one to shower when he walked back up to the group holding the castile soap in his hand.

"Sorry bud, you weren't here to shout your turn so you're last." Gladiolus lamented, slapping Ignis on the back with a click of his tongue.

"I suppose I shall make due." He shrugged.

"Eh you can go before me. You work hard for the group so lets raise your chances of a hot shower by one percent by going before me." Aranea offered. Ignis smiled lightly then shook his head,

"Rules of the game, I shall accept my place in last. But your offer is still appreciated." She returned his smile, the pair lingering on each other for a moment before waving off Lunafreya and Noctis once the young woman stated she was growing fatigued and thought it best to hurry to the shower.

"Cold?" Noctis asked her a few paces away when she began to hug her arms. She paused, and nodded, her fingertips digging into her upper arms. "Pretty sure I have a sweater in the Regalia. Want me to get it after the shower?" he offered, and she nodded. Her hair had come loose from its ponytail during her sleep, the swaying blonde strands making her gesture more exaggerated.

"That would be nice."

"Just expect a lot of teasing from Gladio. Pretty sure you could stand in the middle of the ice fiends of Nifleheim and he'd mock you for waring more than a tee-shirt." He chuckled and she laughed,

"Always hot?" she inquired, finally looking at him. But the turn in her head made her wince, squinting her eyes as she halted her steps. Noctis reached out, bracing her shoulders,

"Whoa, careful." He insisted. She hummed for a moment, still squinting her eyes shut. "Should we go back so you can lie down? Wash up later?" he wrinkled his nose at how quickly she shook her head _no_ , blinking rapidly and stretching her features as whatever wave of dizziness had overtaken her passed. She tilted her head to indicate that she wanted to continue walking, and he kept an arm on her lower back as they walked to the designated building.

It was closer to an oversized outhouse than an actual shower; a small wooden building covered in aluminum siding with a pipe running up the side after running through a large tank that Noctis figured must serve at the water heater. He would be surprised if there was enough hot water for a single shower, let alone his entire retinue. But the pipe ran under the ground from the other side of the pipe, and he was curious if perhaps a large underground tank existed. In either case, he was grateful Lunafreya was the first to shower, goosebumps apparent on her arms now that he was looking closer.

"Do you mind staying just outside the door?" she requested, her eyes scanning the rusty latch on the inside of the door, chewing her bottom lip as she failed to find a more secure lock.

"Um yeah, sure." He agreed, nodding. "You gonna be okay? Is there a place for you to put your clothes so they stay dry?" he asked, knitting his brows together. She pointed to a small basket near the top of the shower room just a bit higher than the shower head, likely to keep her clothes dry as long as she was quick enough not to soak them with steam. She smiled awkwardly and shrugged, reaching to tug the door shut. "Oh sorry." He apologized, withdrawing his arm and releasing the death grip he had on it, drumming his fingers against his hip. "I'll be right here." He stated, raising his voice so she could hear him through the metal and wood.

The shower sputtered for a few seconds before the sound of running water replaced it, and he let out a long sigh. He gave the structure a testing push before sitting on the dusty ground and leaning his back against it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, tapping through to look for an RPG game again. He searched for a moment before he heard a thump that made him flinch.

"Luna?" he called, turning and staring at the door. "Luna! You okay?" he shouted a bit louder. He got to his feet, phone shoved back into his pocket and knocked on the door, "Hey! Luna!" he was greeted by only the running water and reached for the door's handle, pulling on it. It rattled, and when he tugged again hard he could feel how loose the rusty latch was. He mumbled an apology under his breath and jerked the door hard, stumbling back when the latch tore off. Lunafreya was slumped on the bottom of the shower, awkwardly perched against the wall. He reached up to shut off the water and pulled the towel out from the basket where she had placed her clothes, draping it around her so he could pick her up while maintaining her dignity. "Hey!"

The group of friends all turned to the shout, collectively cursing or murmuring as the Prince ran towards them with the unconscious Oracle in his arms wrapped only in a towel.

"Shit dude what happened?" Gladiolus asked.

"She started showering after like two minutes I heard a thump. Can you find the medic? I'm gonna bring her back in." he explained. His Shield nodded and ran off in search of Sandrina, Promto following him. Ignis, Crowe, and Aranea following the Prince into the small hospital building. When they walked in they found someone tending to the other hunters.

"Everything okay?" the man asked,

"Dunno." He answered back, laying Lunafreya on the bed she had been occupying and pulled the blankets up to her neck, realizing the towel had only barely come down past her hips. He stood and rubbed at his own hip, turning to his friends grateful they had followed him inside. "What could it be? She hasn't bled anymore. Could she still have some internally?" he asked, voice quivering and an octave too high.

"Settle Noct. Let us wait until the medic returns. We can ask her what the most likely explanation is." He cocked his head slightly, "Did you harm your leg in your haste?" he asked, pointing at how Noctis was massaging his fingertips deeply into his hip.

"Started aching. Maybe." He answered.

"Take a seat and get off the leg." Ignis suggested. While they talked Crowe had dropped herself beside Lunafreya's bed on the opposite side of where Nocits's chair was and chided Lunafreya for making her look like a bad Shield.

"From what I've seen she's a tough shit. Pretty sure she'll be just fine." Aranea encouraged. She crossed her arms in front of her and leaned back against the wall, tapping her foot.

"Yeah." Noctis agreed, taking Ignis's advice and sitting down in the chair, wincing at how the pain seemed to spread to his other hip. "Ugh… maybe that battle is catching up to me." he admitted. Ignis shrugged and agreed that it was possible. "Do we have another towel? Her hair is soaked and she was already feeling chilly."

"I'll go check the Regalia."

"I'll wait here and make sure these two nervous balls of energy don't blow up the room." Aranea teased and gave Ignis a thumbs up. He nodded and headed for the door, startling when it opened and stepped aside to allow Sandrina to enter, followed by Gladiolus and Prompto before exiting the building.

"So she passed out in the shower?" Sandrina asked, leaning over Lunafreya. She dug a hand into her pocket and pulled out a small white tube, pushing a button on it and flashed a light into Lunafreya's eyes while her other hand pulled her eyelid open. The stimulus started to rouse her from her unconscious state, squinting and letting out a small whine in response to the touch. "Welcome back." Sandrina smiled, patting Lunafreya on the shoulder. "Decided you hadn't scared him enough yet and had to pass out again?" she asked. Lunafreya mumbled something incoherent as she tried to regather her senses, the fog overtaking her mind so often edging her mind. "Try that again?"

"I passed out?" she asked with more clarity.

"Yeah you stepped into the shower and after like a minute you passed out." Noctis answered her. Sandrina clicked her tongue for a moment,

"You like hot showers?" she asked.

"Quite." Lunafreya answered, then furrowed her brow. "Why?"

"Your blood pressure is already quite low. Hot water dilates blood vessels, which guess what? Drops your blood pressure. You probably caused it go really low which made you pass out." She explained.

"Should she take a cold one then? Would the opposite fix her blood pressure?" Noctis asked, watching the medic cross the room to open a small cabinet. She pulled out some supplies and returned to the bedside, wrapping a cuff around Lunafreya's arm to test her blood pressure.

"A cold shower would not fix her blood pressure, it'll do nothing but make her feel even colder." Sandrina answered him while she worked, pressing a stethoscope to the inside of her arm while inflating and deflating the cuff around her arm. "Well, your blood pressure is low but about the same as earlier so you're not getting any worse." She explained. "The phlebotomist will be here shortly to draw your blood so we can check up on you." They thanked the medic and she left, the other worker following her the pair talking about what Nocits assumed was the condition of the other patients in this room.

It was three more hours before Sandrina returned, rousing Noctis from his slumber when she cleared her voice. He sat up, wondering when he had fallen asleep. He put his head down against Lunafreya's bed for a moment to close his eyes as a headache began to settle just beneath his forehead. _Apparently I'm still pretty tired._ He yawned, looking around and saw that at some point everyone had left again, save for Crowe who was shoving her phone into a pocket and turning her attention to the medic.

"We have the blood test results." She started, clicking her pen on and off at her side. "The numbers went down a little more." Her face remained impassive, and her eyes flickered down to her clipboard. "We can put an alert to Lestallum that we need the first units of O-negative or B-negative blood that they have." She explained. To Noctis it sounded like there was more she wanted to say but had cut herself off.

"What if you test me?" he asked. "Can I donate some blood to her?" he asked. Sandrina paused,

"It takes time to process a blood donation. It has to be checked for disease, run through a centrifuge to separate components," Noctis lost the rest of her sentence as it fell into a jumble of medical technobabble that he couldn't fully understand, catching words that made little sense without further context. _She's screwed is the message_ he told himself, and felt his stomach begin to churn, the headache growing worse. He idly rubbed at his hips, the awkward bend of his sleeping position made the pain in his joints feel worse and his brief nap left him feeling even more tired. A palm tapped against his thigh as he dropped his gaze from Sandrina down to Lunafreya; realizing with another startle in his chest that the normally extremely light sleeper hadn't been woken by the conversations.

"How bad are her numbers? Can we really wait for all that stuff?" Noctis asked. Sandrina sighed and paused, shaking her head.

"Not if these numbers get any worse and they're pretty bad," she stated some numbers that held no meaning, but her tone betrayed what her neutral expression didn't. She cut off a sigh into a huff of air, brining a hand through her hair. "A whole blood donation is dangerous. We've done it before when hunters have come back with horrible injuries and bleeding faster than we can control. But it goes wrong a lot more often than it does with a properly processed unit."

"What if you test us just to see if any of us match? Take it from there?" he asked, knitting his brows together and beginning to tap his palm against his thigh and bounce his leg. She hesitated, then nodded.

"We're between a rock and a hard place here." She admitted. "as long as everyone consents, we can start blood typing."

"That phlebotomist from Lestallum is going to hate us." Noctis chuckled without any humor in his voice, his frail smile not touching his eyes.

"When we have injured hunters in dire straights, we do the same thing, they're pretty used to this back-and-forth between hunter hubs to the point they have a phlebotomist specifically for this type of constant travel." She provided in ways of reassurance. "I'll go make a call, but I recommend talking to all your friends since we can only do the test on people who consent and understand why we want to know their blood type." She recommended.

"You got mine." Crowe chirped. "And I'll beat anyone senseless who refuses." She gave Sandrina a thumbs up, the woman answering with a nervous smile and a joke about _hearing no evil_ before turning to round on her other patients. The man had woken up at various times, but all of them seemed to be in even worse shape than Lunafreya, and he was worried that if she took note of this she would damn near kill herself to attempt to heal them.

"I feel like I've been hit by a stampede of garulas" he complained, trying to stretch and relieve the tension in his body.

"Well sleeping in chairs, after Titan kicked your ass doesn't sound like the pinnacle of luxury. I'm surprised you're not in one of these beds too." Crowe answered him. "I think I need to buy a bottle of booze the moment we get outta here. Earned some spending cash for everyone by doing hunts. Probably what the others are all up to now." She mused, tapping her chin.

"Well let's go find everyone and talk them into the blood tests." Noctis suggested. Crowe agreed to keep vigil over the still sleeping _Sparkles_ taking Noctis's seat once he stood up.

"My ass thanks you for the seat. Though gods its weird when you sit in a chair and its _warm_." She winced, but waved off Noctis. "If anyone refuses tell them I'll shove my boot so far down their throat they'll be shitting teeth for a month."

"Sure thing." Noctis waved her off. The constant worrying, and on-and-off napping was beginning to leave him confused about the time of day. It was deep into the night, damn near dawn, and he hoped his friends weren't off on a hunt and had bunkered down for some sleep themselves. _Why haven't we seen any daemons? Is it because hunters slay them all night so they stay away?_ He wondered to himself, and then found himself questioning how intelligent they were if they could make such an active choice to avoid an area associated with killing them.

It was another series of relays after Noctis had gotten consent from everyone in the party before Sandrina came back. He looked up and saw the dark circles rimming the woman's bloodshot eyes. He frowned, using the heel of his hand to try and rub away some of his fatigue. He had again fallen asleep, this time leaning over Lunafreya while he sat on the edge of her bed, Crowe still fast asleep slouched in the chair. Prompto had decided to join them and somehow made himself comfortable in the corner of the wall, rousing from his own slumber. The other three had decided to sleep properly in the Regalia so at least half their retinue would retain some degree of functionality.

"So we're in luck. We have a blood type match." Even the smile on the medic's face looked tired, but nonetheless there was some cheer in her voice. "We'll have to keep a close eye on her but I think a whole blood transfusion is in her best interest. Her most recent test we sent along came back that she's slightly worse." She explained. Noctis looked down at the still sleeping Lunafreya, and reached out to shake her shoulder,

"Luna… wake up." He whispered. He repeated her name and shook her shoulder again, letting out a relieved breath when her face scrunched up and she trained her squinting eyes on him.

"Hmm?" she hummed, looking around her for a moment, "oh." she looked up to the medic. "Umm. News I suppose?" she asked, her voice hoarse with sleep. Sandrina repeated what she had told Noctis and now bore a frown that matched his. "I'm still bleeding?" she inquired, and let out a long sigh. All the talking seemed to be rousing the other two.

"So who matches?" Noctis asked.

"Prompto is O-negative. Not a perfect match, but it'll do."

"Me?!" Prompto's brows shot up. The others all looked at him,

"Change of heart?" Sandrina asked. "If it's needles that are putting you off-"

"No no no!" he cut her off. "I'll. Umm I'll do it." His face blanched, his eyes nearly black with dilated pupils. Noctis brought his brows together,

"Hey man, need to walk around for a sec?" he asked after his blond friend got to his feet and started bouncing in place, palm tapping against his thigh. "I know doctors always made you nervous when we were younger." He offered, and Prompto quickly nodded.

"Yeah. Doctor jitters. Don't worry Luna, won't letcha down! Just… need a minute!" he gave two thumsb up, wiggling them. She smiled back at him, then after a moment's hesitation lifted her hand to hold out a thumbs-up of her own and wiggled it like he did. The smile finally touched his eyes and she nodded when he excused himself to follow Noctis once the Prince checked with Lunafreya that she would be okay in the hands of her shield while Sandrina went over the finer details of the blood transfusion including the mountain of paperwork involved in it.

Outside Noctis was glad for the darkness, and by the sounds of it few people were nearby. He let Prompto retain the silence for a minute, though he could hear him tapping his palm against himself, his footsteps sounded shuffled. The tapping stopped, Prompto letting out a long breath in a razzberry as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Why me man." He mumbled. "I mean I'm totally going to help Luna!" he held up both his palms. "But am I really the _only_ match? I mean there's gotta be someone better than me!"

"Why would there be anything wrong with you?" Noctis asked, quirking a brow, "you never really crossed me as a guy who sleeps around. That's Gladio's territory. But if you've contracted something you should tell-"

"No! Dude!" Prompto snapped quickly, and punched Noctis hard on the arm. "Not that. Now you have me wondering if we need to sprinkle some antibiotics in Gladio's cup noodle. You know something I don't?" he asked. And the Prince could have sword he could _hear_ Prompto wiggling his brow suggestively.

"He had a doctor back in Insomina that checked him regularly to keep up with his, umm, endeavors." Noctis answered in quick defense of his Shield.

"Also Crowe would rip his dick off if he gave her something."

"Wait they're together?!" Noctis asked, brows shooting up and his voice half an octave higher than he intended. Prompto snorted, shaking his head,

"No, but you can cut the sexual tension between them with a knife. Pretty surprised we haven't all had to invest in ear plugs." Prompto continued to laugh. "I don't think those two are courteous enough to be as quiet as you and the oh-so-pure holy Oracle." Prompto poked at Noctis in the ribs with his elbow.

"Wh-what? I mean… we're not. We don't." his face burned and the heat spread across his ears and his neck, immediately making the skin itchy and he scratched at the side of his neck.

"Well you don't rub it in our faces but we're not stupid" Prompto clarified. He paused for a moment, and sighed again. "You guys are clearly all head-over-heels and other romantic-term-I-should-use. Just kind of funny… Luna always looks so pure and stuff on TV so it's weird to see the real her and that she's human like us. Okay, she's like, a level 10 compared to us, but you get my point." He clarified, speaking quickly and stumbling through his words. "Just… she deserves better than my dirty blood." He finally blurted. "Deep down she's just a normal girl but she's also _the Oracle._ "

"Prom you know she doesn't let that get to her head." Noctis offered, quirking a brow. "I mean I half get it? I still don't get why she's willing to settle for some scruffy Prince. I'm sure she'll be more than grateful for your blood, I mean you're saving her… ass afterall." Noctis hesitated, not wanting to admit this transfusion was likely going to save her life, Sandrina's words echoing in his mind that her tests showed her on the decline again.

"That's not… it's not that _any_ normal person is below her. Okay they are. But you know what I mean. It's more… _me_." he clarified. Noctis kept his silence, watching Prompto bounce on one leg, running his hands through his hair again. "Noct I… I'm not from Insomnia. Or Lucis." Prompto squinted, tilting his head to look at the ground. Questions formulated in Noctis's head to try and urge him to continue talking, but they died in the back of his throat and a thick silence hung between them. "I'm a _Nif_!" he hissed through his teeth. His fists balled at his sides.

"So?" Noctis asked, jerking himself a little straighter. "Why does that change anything?" he asked, reaching out to place a hand on Prompto's shoulder but his friend quickly rolled his shoulder and took a step back.

"After everything the Nifs did to Insomnia? How can you be friends with someone tied to that!" he bit down on his lip, looking around him when he suddenly became aware of how loud he had shouted.

"You were _with us_!" Noctis shot back. "It was as much your home as mine we watched get attack. You're _with us_ trying to fix our world and kick the Empire's ass in the meantime for what they did. Why would your birthplace matter?" he tried to reassure, but Prompto again shook his head.

"I'm not just a Nif!" His voice quivered, and his hand scratched at his left wrist where his bandana was. His fingers trembled as he worked at the knot, letting the fabric fall and held out his arm, a black barcode tattoo hidden beneath it. "I was _made_ in Gralea! I wasn't even born! I'm not even… I'm not. I'm…" he stammered, looking up at Noctis. Through the darkness he could see the tears built in the blond's eyes,

"That doesn't change anything!"

"Even if I'm _Verstael's_ clone! She doesn't talk about it, but even I can figure out that he wasn't exactly _nice_ to her! Afterr everything that man did to her you think she'll really want his blood in her?!" He asked. "I agreed to the test because I was just, y'know, wanting to help! I didn't think I'd actually be the one with the right type!" he turned, eyes searching the ground for something, _anything_ , to kick. To punch. He wanted to scream, cry, pull at his hair. He wanted to tear off his shirt just to have something to throw. He wanted to punch Noctis for standing there, for not running away. For not punching _him_ after this confession.

"Prompto… you're my friend. One of my best friends. My brother. I love you man, you really think I care who your dad was?" he asked. He took a step closer, reaching out again and Prompto let his hand rest on his shoulder. "It'll be _your_ blood. _Prompto's_ blood that helps her get better."

"Even that's just part of Verstael's… experiments. I wasn't the only clone. I mean, I don't remember much. I was pretty little when I was taken away from Gralea. But I remember something about being a _donor_. My mom took me away because she was worried he would take my blood or organs. Remember those freaky things we saw in that base?" he asked, pointing in a haphazard direction. "that's nothing compared to the experiments Verstael was doing. The things he did with a bunch of clones with engineered blood to be _donors._ " He explained. "My mom got me away… and I can barely remember her face. All I have left from my parents is this… barcode. This dirty blood." Prompto's voice cracked, tears rolling down his cheeks. He bit down on his lip to try and swallow back the following sob. Noctis's fist gripping his shoulder pulled him closer, and he felt arms wrap around his entire body.

"You'll always be my brother Prompto. You're more than just a clone, or a Nif. You're Lucian. Who cares where you were born or why. You're _Prompto."_

* * *

I originally wanted this chapter to be longer, but once I wrote "You're Prompto" my heart said to end it there. Carrying on would have broken the mood I find. But I am curious if you agree, or if I should have continued a bit further and carried this chapter through finishing this blood transfusion bullshit I'm dragging out WAY longer than I originally intended.

Speaking of, one of the reasons I doubted this chapter so hard like I mentioned up at the start of this chapter was I was worried that this blood transfusion stuff felt very trope-y. Like it's a bad cliche shoehorned into the story, especially a blood shortage and needing to do a whole blood transfusion. Lucis is in a bit of a bad spot, and a blood shortage is not an unrealistic problem, but I still worry that this arc feels stupid. I do hope you are enjoying it. I just really wanted these covenants to have serious consequences, and kind of add some meat to the game showing Lunafreya being a wet noodle after awakening the astrals by SHOWING this decline.

Well after oddly long authors notes from me, I do just hope you enjoy this despite my doubting this particular part of the Titan arc.


	33. Recovery

Look at me being all productive and getting a chapter up!

* * *

"I love you too man." Prompto sniffled, pulling back from the prolonged hug. "Is this the part where Gladio appears out of nowhere and kills the mood by telling us to kiss, and then Ignis scoffs, calls him a posh word for ass hole and hug me too?" he asked, chuckling through the tears.

"Crowe tells Gladio to pull the stick out of his ass or she'll do it for him."

"Where does Aranea fit it in this?" Prompto asked, running his hand under his nose and sniffling. "Gods I'm like a toddler. Can I rub my nose on the bottom of your shirt?" he asked, reaching out. Noctis jerked back, possessively grabbing at the bottom of it. "Aw come on, it's just boogers!" he whined, reaching out again and Noctis snorted,

"You rub your nose on me I'll shove the whole shirt up your nose!"

"Hey, that'll stop the running!" he agreed, "so hand it over, come on! If I was _Luna_ ," he teased, stretching out the vowels in her name, "you'd let her rub her snot all over your shirt. Admit it man, we've been on the road for like seventeen years and she's already got you under her thumb!" he reached out, poking Noctis in the chest. "You… you really don't care that I'm Verstael's clone?" he asked.

"Hell no! Why does that change anything?" he asked. Prompto replied with a nod and another sniffle, tapping his hands against his thighs,

"I… umm… Luna won't mind? It's still _Verstael_." He wrinkled his nose saying the name.

"Trust me, she won't care." He slung an arm around Prompto's shoulder. "Now come on, before everyone starts rumors we ran off to make out let's hurry back so they can get this blood transfusion started so Luna can get back on her feet." Noctis suggested, getting another chuckle from his friend whose sobs were finally tapered off to the occasional stuttered breath.

"Let me just…" Prompto ducked down and picked up his bandana, wrapping it around his wrist. "I'm… I'm not ready to tell the whole world yet." He explained, using his teeth to finish the knot. Noctis nodded,

"It's your secret to tell."

They walked back to the medic room, Noctis noticing with a passing glance one of the beds previously occupied was now emptied. He scrunched his face as they passed it, wondering when it had been vacated. _Did I just not notice earlier?_ He wondered. He shrugged it off, sitting on the edge of Lunafreya's bed. She stirred once he sat down,

"Hey it's okay sleep if you need to." He reassured her.

"Uh Lady Luna, sorry for running off like that." Prompto felt his face heat up, and began to bounce on his heels. "Like I promised I'll totally give you all the blood you need. Like, totally the creepiest gift ever." He smiled at her, and got one in return.

"Thank you." She nodded. "I wish I could have kicked this on my own." She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I wish for us to be back on the road. We must make our way to more royal arms. Noctis, perhaps you and the others could take the Regalia until I recover so I do not slow us down any longer?" Her suggested was shot down by the trio around her.

"First of all, we've been here for like, a fistful of hours. Half a day? I dunno… I'm all lost. So stop trying to play martyr." Crowe chided. Lunafreya flushed, opening her mouth to protest, finding herself lost for words and closed it again quickly, shifting on the mattress. "You took on a damn _god_. Let yourself rest for more than fifteen minutes!" she reached out and gave the Oracle a light slap on the side of the head. "Speaking of. Pretty surprised that you're still on your feet," she pointed at Nocits.

"Well I feel like I've been hit by a bus. My hip is really killing me." he answered. This drew Lunafreya's attention, but he saw the shift in her expression and pointed at her, "worry about yourself for once. I'll be fine." He insisted. She sighed, and nodded with a slow shrug.

"Everyone else?" she asked.

"We're all still kickin!" Prompto cheered, sticking out two thumbs up again. Lunafreya smiled again and held out a thumbs up again to mirror him. He dropped his arms back down to his sides and resumed bouncing on his heels, chewing on his bottom lip. "Should I go find that medic to do this blood stuff?" he asked so quickly he had to repeat himself a second time to actually be understood.

"Umm… I'll go." Crowe answered him, quirking a brow. "Take a valium dude, you're so hyper you're making me want to take a nap." She teased, getting to her feet. She gave him a thump on the arm as she passed by. Noctis gave her a moment to vanish from the room before looking up at Prompto, nodding at him to try and prompt him into asking Lunafreya the question that was clearly still bothering him.

"So before we do this you should know…" he hesitated, avoiding her eyes. Her expression was too damned soft, too kind. He didn't want to see her smooth brow furrow with lines, her neutral half-smile curl into a frown while her nose lined in a sneer. He wondered what rejection from her usual soft voice would sound like. "I'm… I'm a Nif." He started, eyes flicking back up to search her face for a change in expression. But she remained passive, and as he studied her he saw just how damned _tired_ she was. _She needs your blood man. Bad._ He began to doubt bringing these concerns up. What if despite Noctis's reassurances she rejected him?

"It matters little where you're from, you're Noctis's friend." She answered.

"Not… not just any Nif." He continued, holding up a hand before folding his arms and digging his fingertips into his arms. "I'm…" he swallowed hard. He looked up to Noctis who simply nodded, and Lunafreya was quietly giving him the space he needed to get these words out. _Would this be easier if she was just less nice?_ He wondered. "You should know whose blood you're gonna let get put in you." He paused. "Okay that sounded like, super creepy." His foot started tapping when he stopped bouncing on his heels.

"Prompto… you can talk to me, it's okay." She reassured.

"I'm a clone." His eyes locked to the floor when he spoke the words, waiting for her response before daring to look up.

"That doesn't-"

"Of Verstael!" he snapped, squinting.

"That doesn't change anything." She answered him. He opened his eyes and looked up, and there was that gentle smile still on her face. Her eyes were a bit wider, and he wished her arms were above the blankets so he could see what she was doing with her fingers. Was she balling angry fists? Drumming her fingers waiting for him to go away? "You're helping me… I. I can't thank you enough. "

"It… it doesn't bother you?" he asked, and she shook her head. He smiled, dropping his arms at his sides. "Oh good! Well… we… we need to get you back to normal so you can go back to being like, all badass and pissing off Gods. Umm just, can you not tell the others just yet?"

"I promise." She answered.

"I'm gonna go catch up with Crowe so we can start all this stuff." He smiled, waving her off and dashing out of the room.

"Verstael made clones?" Lunafreya murmured after Prompto was gone from the room. "I should not have expected less from him. I wonder why Verstael let him go. The man is usually quite possessive of the people he considers _his_."

"He said something about his mother getting him out but didn't give me much detail. I just remember going to school together when we were little." Noctis offered. "So it doesn't bother you?" he asked. She hesitated for a moment but shook her head,

"He's your friend. I trust him." She answered. She wondered what Verstael would think if he knew that his clone, blood identical to his own, would run through her veins. Goosebumps rolled down her arms, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly through her nose as she tried to push images of his face out of her mind. She could almost hear the experiments he would want to conduct as a result of this, testing her magic. Testing her blood. Caligo watching over them. She closed her eyes and tried to will away the image of that lab room from the back of her eyelids. Suddenly the room smelled too sterile. The bleach, the strange tang in her nose from the saline running from an almost-empty bag on a hook. The starchy sheets scratched her skin in an all-too familiar way.

"Luna?" she opened her eyes, feeling Noctis shift closer to her on the bed. She moved her arms out from under the heavy blankets and reached for his hand, gripping it tight.

"I promise, I take no issue with Prompto or his origin. She kept her concerns to herself, a pang of guilt settling with the anxiety taking over her mind, remembering the look of her own hand writing as she promised not to keep secrets from Noctis. _Talk to him about it later._ She assured herself. _You're not breaking any promises just by telling him later._ It did little to soothe her guilt, and she tried to shift her attention to the warmth of the fingers wrapped around her fingers.

"Before we go get royal arms let's go to Lestallum and get some really nice street food, some ice cream. Before you get worried about being noticed once you're back to your old self and in clean clothes pull your hood on and no one will notice who you are." He offered.

"It feels wrong to hide, but I understand why we must." She sighed. "Once I feel normal again before we depart I wish to repay the kindness of everyone here by healing those still injured." She counter-offered. "then we can gorge ourselves on junk food." She compromised. Noctis smiled,

"Fair enough" She agreed, a smile crossing her own features. He leaned forward and placed a small kiss atop her lips, and she closed her eyes and tried to lean into him, not expecting him to pull back. She flushed, realizing that while unconscious there were still others in the room. She hitched herself up, shaking her head when Noctis reached out to press a hand to her shoulder. "If you want me to lie back down then bring yourself over here." She asked, leaning back on her elbows, ignoring the lightheadedness creeping up the back of her scalp from her attempt to sit up.

Noctis shook his head at her stubbornness, leaning over her bed in spite of the creaking springs to press his lips to hers once more, earning a huff of air from her nose, and her arms possessively winding around his neck. She tugged him down to her better, wishing for the privacy of their tent. The kiss lingered, her thumb playing with the hair on the back of his neck.

"Your hair is getting long." She remarked when she drew back, hand sliding from the back of his neck to the side of his jaw, her thumb now rubbing against the stubble on his cheek, "and you haven't shaved. It looks nice." She smiled.

"Been kinda preoccupied the last few days." He answered, returning her gesture by cupping her cheek, leaning forward to kiss her again. "I guess I can get my razor from the Regalia." He suggested, Lunafreya shaking her head _no_.

"You look quite good." She insisted, both hands how playfully rubbing his cheeks with her fingers.

"That tickles!" he protested back, grabbing her wrists to pull them away and she resisted to stubbornly keep brushing the stubble on his cheeks against the grain. He laughed at the way her tongue poked out slightly through her teeth as she smirked at him.

"Careful now, don't tell me that you're only shooting yourself in the foot."

"Well considering I know _your_ tickling spots," he slid his hands under her shirt and began to wiggle his fingers against the skin just below her ribs and she curled in on herself and broke into hysterics,

"Gah! Stop!" she started slapping at his hands, "you're the worst!" he laughed, straining to keep at it while she turned onto her side, "I… I'm dizzy." She managed between laughs. He quickly stopped and withdrew his arms.

"You okay?" he asked, knitting his brow.

"I'm fine, just a tad lightheaded." She shrugged at him, still smiling at him and reached out to tap at his hand, "stop pouting. They'll have me feeling better soon." The nervousness she felt began to creep back in, and she rested against the pillows and tried to find her center, squeezing Noctis's hand tightly. Memories of Verstael threatened to creep back into the forefront of her memory but she shifted her thoughts over to Prompto. That hyperactive blond man who had sat beside her and excitedly shared his photographs with her. _Something good actually came of Vertael. A dear friend to Noctis, and the power to get me back onto my feet so we can resume our quest._

 _[Prom]_ _Hey man am I a wuss if I think this needle is like terrifying?_

 _[Prom] I mean yeah sure I kinda am a total wuss dont tell gladio I admitted that but this thing is like a drinking straw!_

Noctis chuckled reading the messages after his phone buzzed.

 _[Noct] Need moral support?_

 _[Prom] Nah I got gladdy here reminding me how much of a girl I am while Ignis tells him Im the brave one and some fancy way to say Im helping Luna_

 _[Noct] Cant thank you enough man_

 _[Prom] Of course!_

Noctis tucked his phone into his pocket, letting his head rest back and closed his eyes for a few moments. His phone buzzed, but his come-and-go headache was starting it's come cycle, settling behind his eyes and reminding his hip that it hurt. He hoped the rest of this transfusion wouldn't take long. He wanted to give Lunafreya all the time she needed to recover but sleeping in these short bursts in a chair was beginning to get to him. His phone started buzzing again, and he pulled it out to see that his father was calling him.

"It's my dad." He stated, looking at a very groggy Lunafreya.

"Answer it." she suggested, and he nodded. A quick glance around the room and he decided that he would rather take the call outside.

"Hey dad." He thumbed the phone while he walked past the other resting patients.

"Son, I've just heard on the radio, the meteor has fallen."

"Yeah." He answered, trying to collect his thoughts to bring his father up to speed as a wave of guilt passed through him for having not called him sooner. He sank down against the outside wall of the medical building. "We made the covenant." He explained. He could hear the worry in his father's voice, and he scratched at the back of his neck while he told him about their current situation.

"Is Luna all right?" he asked. Noctis nodded at the air, before answering.

"Yeah she just needs rest." He felt more guilt as he left the details out, but he didn't want to bring his father excess stress by telling him the details about Lunafreya's condition. He wondered when the next time they could make it back to Hammerhead would be. He pinched the bridge of his nose, the headache beginning to grow stronger.

"And you son?"

"I'm okay. Worried." He admitted, "I used my armiger against Titan and I've had a headache ever since." He rubbed at his hip, sure that the growing ache was probably a pulled muscle. "Will that get worse when I get more weapons?"

"The armiger is hard to use, give yourself some rest and you'll feel normal in no time. It takes a little getting used to." His father assured him.

"How are you doing dad?"

"Just a bit concerned." He sounded tired,

"Have there been more daemon attacks?" Noctis asked.

"Yes… we've been sleeping in the garage. We purchased some stronger daemon repelling lights. Takka's latest shipment of vegetables came in rotten and black so we had to make the travel up to Lestallum for some supplies and got lights while there." His father explained.

"Is everyone okay?" Noctis sat up straighter, gripping the phone harder.

"No one is hurt." His father assured him, ,letting out a long sigh on the other end. "It's just tiring." He wasn't used to hearing his father talk like this.

"Can we do anything? Maybe we can find information on how to set up a haven at Hammerhead." Noctis wondered.

"The havens were created so long ago the knowledge has been all but lost. There may be a book or two containing the methods once used but… alas, those books are kept in the royal library of the Citadel." Regis explained, Noctis squinting to push away the images of him home aflame from his mind's eye.

"We'll take back our home. We have two covenants… I have three arms. Once Luna feels better we'll get more." Noctis promised. "Just… stay safe, okay? Those lights strong enough? We're near Lestallum we can get more for you." He offered.

"No, the daemons seem to be kept out of the actual garage, and Cid has been greatly enjoying the opportunity to tinker with some machinery for better protection. You focus on your task and caring for Luna."

"Okay, I will."

"Walk tall son,"

"I will dad…" he waited a moment in case his father had more to say before ending the call, pushing his phone back into his pocket. He let out a long huff of air, fingers weaving into his hair before dropping his arms by his side.

The transfusion took longer than Noctis was expecting, _maybe I'm just impatient_ he thought. Sandrina was staying in the room for the duration of it. He couldn't help the uneasy feeling seeing a bag of blood hanging there, wondering to himself about how _dark_ it was like that. Prompto had been given a solid meal after his donation and made to promise not to drink any alcohol for a couple days. The retinue were all given bunks in another part of the camp to sleep properly, but Crowe had insisted on staying with Noctis and Lunafreya until she was well enough to leave.

They had been assured that she should be fine to move by morning, though the medic had insisted they return to the nearest hospital immediately if Lunafreya started showing any further signs of bleeding. There had been a round of teasing when Noctis sprouted a nosebleed shortly after this warning, Crowe taking to calling him Prince Tusk with the way he had twirled tissues shoved up his nose. The others had been given bunks to get some proper sleep, but Crowe had insisted on staying with her charge, as did Noctis.

"I feel much better, I assure you." Lunafreya insisted after she had woken up near noon. Crowe glanced up at Noctis, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes woken by their conversation.

"Why don't we do one more hunt? Get a little more cash, give Sparkles a few more hours to finish recharging her batteries, then back on the road?" she suggested in the pause allotted by Noctis's hesitation.

"Great idea." Noctis agreed with her, grasping at the excuse.

"Or rather, I come with should something go awry." Lunafreya argued back. "Don't look at me like that Noct, I've proven myself capable already. And I honestly do feel better today." She continued, reaching out and patting the back of his hand.

"I…" he hesitated, "Okay." He agreed. "Just… please, be careful."

"Lady Lunafreya?" she flinched, turning quickly to look up at Sandrina,

"I apologize… I've been told before I should wear a bell." The medic gave her a sheepish smile. "You have a visitor." She was drumming her fingers on the back of her clipboard and bouncing slightly on one leg.

"Who?" Lunafreya asked, casting a concerned glance to Noctis.

"The High Commander of Niflehiem's army," the woman flushed slightly, "your brother' she added quickly. "Excuse me," she left quickly and once she was through the door Lunafreya looked up to see Ravus walking into the small building.

"Ravus?" she asked, sitting upright in the bed, grateful that no lightheadedness forced her to lie back down.

"Luna…" she smiled, in spite of the tiny flicker of residual anger from his last visit.

"It's good to see you." She turned when she saw Noctis stiffen beside her.

"Uh… Come on Noct, let's go check out the hunts and catch up with the others while Sparkles chit-chats." Crowe suggested, making a talking gesture with her hand. Noctis paused but Crowe reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt, jerking him to his feet, " _Let's go."_ She enunciated carefully and he followed her tug with a gag, scowling and jutting his jaw at Ravus as he was half-dragged, and half-followed Crowe from the building.

"I should knock that smug-"

"Ravus!" Lunafreya snapped.

"Sorry…" he apologized, sighing. "I just-"

"I am quite versed in how you feel about him." She interrupted. He winced at her tone, sitting down on the edge of the bed,

"I didn't' come here to argue with you about him. I heard through the radio that the meteor fell. I was tasked with investigating and I saw that Titan was gone… you formed the covenant didn't you?" he asked.

"How did you find me?" Lunafreya asked, lifting a brow. "We were so careful."

"Not careful enough." Ravus answered her, shaking his head. He reached out to grab her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Why are you in a… can I even call this a hospital?" he asked, looking around with a grimace.

"You know the price I pay to awaken an astral." Lunafreya answered, squeezing his hand back. "You didn't' answer me about how you found me." she asked.

"It was foolish if you to raid the research base." He started, shaking his head. "You took out the communication tower but not before everyone's phones pinged their signal. The Nifleheim engineers went through every ping on those towers before the blackout to gather the signal from everyone's phone, and now can track all of you. The pings have been traveling but they stayed still in this area. I managed to convince Caligo to allow me to come fetch you. I don't know how much longer I can keep him off your trail. It's… It's what I had come to tell you the last time I saw you." Ravus explained, hanging his head. "But I allowed my anger to get the best of me." Muscles stood out in his neck as he grit his teeth together, avoid his sister's gaze.

Lunafreya felt the color drain from her face, nausea settling in a firey knot in her stomach. She gripped Ravus's hand harder, and he saw the black of her pupil overtake the pale blue. He tightened his own grip on her hand, the other reaching out to grip her shoulder,

"I am never letting him near you again Lunafreya, I swear." He vowed. "Besides that man thinks himself above the chore of coming to get you himself." He tried to reassure her, but she shook her head.

"I know that man better than you do Ravus. If you fail to bring me back to him he will come for me himself. We best leave this base… immediately." She suggested.

"It would be fore the best. Everyone should turn their phones off, to be used only in emergencies. Or better yet discard them altogether." He advised.

"Noct will be quite disappointed to lose his movies and games." She chuckled sadly.

"There are more important things here than movies and games." Ravus sneered, curling his lip.

"Yet it allows me a small bit of relaxation on this journey." She countered quickly. She relaxed her grip on his hand he and let her go, both her hands folding in her lap. "You should join us brother…" she requested.

"I can't. My best chance at keeping you safe is to stay within the military." He answered her. "Unless you come with me, I can take us both far away from here." He suggested, catching her gaze.

"You know that's impossible." She answered and frowned. _I can't return to another prison under the guise of safety_. She thought to herself. Safe meant locked up, hidden, tucked away for no one to see. "I must see this to fruition. What good is hiding in safety if the blight scours our star?" she asked.

"It's why the Empire is researching the blight, they may be cruel but they can cure it. Let some good come about from their evil." Ravus insisted.

"Do you know what their research entails?" Lunafreya asked. "Did you see that base you call us foolish for stopping? Read the notes of that disturbed human who called themselves doctor? Have you seen what has been born of desperation? Such mad cruelty…" she whispered, shaking her head. "I must purge our star." She answered. "Alongside Noctis." She added, and held up a palm.

"I just want you safe."

"I am safe." She insisted.

"You're in a hospital!"

"Because Noctis and his friends brought me here safely!" she shot back. "Why must we argue?" she asked, brows knit together.

"Why did you inherit mother's curse…" he sighed. "Don't recite the words to me." he cut her off.

"Mother's gift was no curse. She helped our people, all of Tenebrae loved her."

"You think Niflehiem would have murdered her were she not Oracle?" he asked.

"Yes." She stated simply. "The light has kept the blight at bay but its growing stronger." She sighed, dropping her head. "You wish for my safety. And I wish for yours. Tread carefully, Noctis told me of a cave filled with the black patterns you see on victims of the blight. The meteor as well. Titan himself was infected." She explained, "you said you visited the meteor?" she asked.

"Yes, I had to ensure you were not trapped there. I could only gain access by airship." Ravus explained.

"Did you exit your airship?" he nodded to her question and she immediately reached out her hands, but he gripped her wrists and pushed her away in a gesture that felt too familiar. She pursed her lips at him and when she reached out again he didn't stop her, recognizing that stubborn expression. She shifted so she sat up on her knees, giving herself a few seconds when she felt a mild dizziness in the back of her head but it faded nearly as quickly as it came. She pressed her forehead to his, Ravus needing to bend down for it as she poured her light into him, reciting her prayer.

"Thank you. I… I forgot how peaceful that felt."

"You're lucky you found me." she chided. But his words brought back memories. Sitting in her mother's lap, crying and pointing to her scraped knee. Her mother telling her to stop acting like her reckless brother as she helped accelerate the healing process the sting fading with the warmth of her mother's light. Of lying in bed with a cloth over her forehead, respirations raspy as she struggled through the intense infection. Her mother coming in, returning home early from a diplomatic trip to cure her daughter, the light filling her and replacing the chill of fever with that comfort soothing her to sleep. She hoped that her own light brought this same comfort to those she healed, and that she could give her brother back this one piece of their lost mother. "Travel with us." She asked again. "Noctis will get used to you if I have to smack the sense into him. I miss you. The real you. I miss our silly games, stealing treats, for once acting very much unlike a princess while you goad me on." She smiled a bit.

"I… I want nothing more sister but…"

"The empire. It seems our family is destined to be kept apart by their hand." She sighed.

"You should hurry from this place. They may send more ships… I don't know how much longer Caligo will trust me."

"I love you brother."

"And you, sister." He bent down to place a kiss on the crown of her head before standing up, Lunafreya watching him leave with a frown, anxiety filling her heart as she thought about the airships coming for them.

* * *

Okay I promise this is the end of this super-slow mini-arc and the next chapter is them getting their asses moving. But I do hope you enjoyed the gang's reprieve. I felt a little unsure about speeding through the transfusion itself, but I also felt like I had gone over everyone's doubts and insecurities enough and repeating it would only belabor the point. Thoughts?


	34. Interrupted

Noctis was waiting outside with Crowe, the former standing stiff watching the Nifleheim High Commander walk back to his airship, the few people wandering around the hunter camp had also stopped their motions to give the man a large berth.

"Where is everyone?" Lunafreya asked, looking around for the rest of their retinue. Her voice made Noctis flinch and he turned his attention away from her brother,

"Oh they're getting the final details on that hunt we want to do and Ig is using some of the money from the last hunt to stock-up on stuff." He explained. "You sure you feel up to this?" he asked her, brows furrowing. She nodded at him. The answer was half-truth, she felt better than the previous day but her limbs still ached, and her head fill felt light.

"You both should turn your phones off." Lunafreya suggested before proceeding to relay the information her brother had given her about the signal being tracked by the empire.

"Shit…" Noctis grumbled. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and with a wince shut it off. "Maybe Ignis will know a way to block our signals so we can keep using our phones." He mused aloud before shoving the disabled device into his pocket and Crowe did the same.

"Man what are you and big guy gonna do without that game you play all day?" Crowe asked.

"Borrow one of Gladio's books I guess." Noctis shrugged.

"You know how to read?" Crowe asked, quirking a brow. Lunafreya slapped a hand over her mouth to cover her snicker while Noctis let out an indignant _Hey!_

"I _did_ always do the story reading when we were children." Lunafreya added with a sympathetic smile. "Oh stop that pout," she chuckled. They found the rest of their retinue where Noctis gave them the unfortunate update on their phones.

"Is that dude anything but trouble? He's the harbinger of annoyance!" Gladiolus grumbled.

"He is my brother." Lunafreya cut in with a frown. "I understand he is… difficult. But he was trying to inform us of danger. If this helps us avoid trouble with the empire." There was a short pause, and Lunafreya was sure that she could see a slight blush on the large man's face as he scratched at the back of his neck,

"I guess. Well I guess hard-mode engaged."

"Maybe Iggy knows something to fix it?" Noctis suggested.

"I'm afraid something like jamming our own cell-signal is more complicated, and trying to tinker with my phone to figure it out would mean the device giving out a signal all the while. So until we have a solution I say we listen to Lady Lunafreya's advice and simply disable them for the time being." Ignis countered. Noctis grimaced,

"Well let's get this hunt over with. Maybe we can buy some burn phones. Come on, we should head out."

"Wait." Lunafreya requested. "I wanted to heal those here still injured before we depart." She explained, hands folded in front of her, brow knit together.

"Of course." Ignis broke the silence, and the tension in her shoulders eased and she nodded her head at him.

"This will not delay us long." She assured them, and parted from the group. She gave her light to those in the camp, each giving her a warm smile and bright wide eyes when she revealed herself as the Oracle. She felt some of her anxiety lifting as she passed through the people, and bore a smile when she rejoined everyone who were waiting for her by the Regalia.

"I think it may be a _good_ thing for the people to know who I am." She suggested to them upon return. "You could see the hope returning to their eyes. I do not think the allure of the Empire's bounty upon my head will sway them to betray us."

"Not everyone may be so prudent." Ignis countered her, frowning at having to pop her bubble. She shrugged, shifting the subject instead to the suggestion they enter the car to get the location of the hunt. "It's actually within walking distance."

"Let's go kick some butt and maybe eat it too. I'm starving!" Gladiolus shouted.

"Perhaps we can find some wild vegetation to cook the meat with, the region is known for wild foragables." Ignis agreed. "I do quite like to experiment with recipes."

"I could lock you in a closet with nothing but celery, baking soda, a week-old opened can of soda, and you'd walk out with a feast fist for a king." Noctis cheered, him. "I'm starving too now that I think about it…"

"I purchased granola bars. Would be ill advised to take a hunt on an empty stomach," Ignis announced, pulling the keys from his pocket to open the Regalia's trunk and fish out a box of granola bars, handing them out to everyone before pulling out his map that was always folded and tucked neatly into a pant pocket. He explained to the group where they were going, and was the first to walk away from the car with his friends behind him.

"I thought you said it was walking distance?" Prompto whined after they had been walking and passing the time with conversation for near an hour.

"Two miles is by all accounts waking distance. I am also unsure how you expected me to get the low-riding Regalia down this path?" Ignis countered, gesturing to the road they were walking down. "Hey is that a bulb-berry bush?! Oh man! I used to eat these all the time as a kid, my neighbor had them growing in his yard!" he bolted away from his friends towards a short ground-crawling bush coated in dark berries. "They look darker than I remember." He remarked, plucking one off the bush. "Dude the whole bush has weird leaves." He turned over his shoulder to look at everyone who was catching up to him.

"Oh Gods, drop that!" Lunafreya yelped, and he dropped the berry more from reflex, her words registering a moment after.

"Rotten?" Prompto asked, a quiver in his voice as he wiped his palms frantically against his pant legs.

"It's the blight." Lunafreya answered in a low tone. She knelt down beside Prompto, squinting slightly as she looked at the leaves. Black filled the veins that ran in webs along the small leaves, more than half the berries themselves were blackened.

"Oh shit!" Prompto began to wipe his hands even harder against his pants, groaning with the effort. He scrambled to his feet, staggering back. "Iggy you have sanitizer in your pocket?!" he asked, voice an octave too high. "Dude set this bush on fire!" he pointed at it as he backed away as fast as he could, tripping over the uneven terrain. He scoot back away from the bush another meter before getting back up to his feet.

"Can fire kill the blight?" Noctis asked Lunafreya. He hadn't funneled magic in some time, but was relieved to find that one vial answered his call and in a flash of blue sparks appeared in his hand, the yellow and orange flames dancing inside the warm vibrating bottle.

"At the least it will renter the plant a state inedible, preventing spread from wildlife eating the berries." Lunafreya answered, getting to her feet. She turned to Prompto a frown on her face, her brows knit. "Prompto?" she called, hoping to jar him from his panicked action.

"Dude I touched the blight! Am I gonna die?!" he asked, looking up with wide eyes.

"We all got away from that ice cave and the meteor in one piece." Noctis tried to reassure, but his unsteady tone failed to give Prompto the confidence he needed.

"Shit dude. I don't think we _touched_ the blight back there though!" he all but yelped. His palms were red from his frantic motions. Gladiolus walked up to him, grabbing his wrists and holding them above Prompto's head until only his toes touched the ground.

"Get your shit together man! We have the _Oracle._ " He reminded, jerking his head in Lunafreya's direction. She gave a shrug and a smile, folding her hands in front of her.

"You have no cuts on your hand, nor did you get any of the berries' juice on you, so I believe you will be fine." She spoke, trying to reassure Prompto. He grumbled shivering and crossing his arms to cease the mindless rubbing. Noctis was bouncing the small fire flask in his hand and Lunafreya raised a hand to halt him, "make sure we are upwind. Not sure we should breathe that smoke." She suggested. Noctis paused, nodding and sheepishly admitting she was right. They all moved to be upwind before he threw the small flask, the bush catching flame unnaturally fast.

"Come on, wastin' time." Gladiolus suggested as they stepped away from the deep black smoke billowing off the bush. Noctis stared at it for a moment longer, the bush looking eerily like the Insomnian skyline from afar, with the thick acrid smoke swirling above it. He curled his lip at it before following the light tug on his sleeve, stepping beside Lunafreya as they continued along Ignis's path. The grass grew more patchy as they walked, and more bushes with black leaves were mingled amongst the ones left only with black branches with nothing upon them.

"Uhh… just what are we hunting?" Crowe asked lifting a brow as she took several steps away from the nearest dead and dried black bush. Ignis flinched and turned beside him when Crowe bumped into him, and he frowned as he glanced around them.

"The poster only said that it was a mad bull garula that was even beginning to turn on local herds." He answered her. "I wonder…" his voice trailed and he looked up, scanning their surroundings. There was a lack of insect chirps, rusting of small rodents, or the songs of birds. He could hear a far-distant cicada whining in the distance but everything around them was still.

"I saw this shit back in Niflehiem… didn't think it was doing this so far east." Aranea murmured, Ignis turning his head to see she was standing just the opposite of him. Sandwiched between the two women he picked up his place to get back his personal bubble, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he tried to think.

"And you seemed to have walked away unscathed." He commented.

"Yeah 'cause I hopped right back in my ship and got the hell out of there." She shuddered. "Pretty sure we should be doing the same." She suggested.

"Well that's why we have our handy-dandy pocket Oracle, right?" Gladiolus countered with a laugh, walking up to give said woman a hard pat on the shoulder. She flinched the moment before he made contact before letting the tension release.

"I can purge the blight should it take hold." She half-whispered, knitting her brow. She had heard stories of the Blight growing so out of control in Niflehiem, her captors never taking her too far from Tenebrae's borders and she had merely assumed they didn't wish to waste precious time and resources traveling with her. She stopped walking, cocking her head as she approached one of the black bushes.

"Luna?" Noctis asked her, lifting a brow and following her a few paces, feeling nervous getting closer to the blighted bush.

"It's all right." She answered. Her fingertips became aglow as she reached out to one of the branches and touched the tip of it. She withdrew her hand with a sharp intake of breath through her teeth, the offended finger coming to her mouth as she sucked on it for a moment before waving her hand in the air.

"You okay?!" Noctis asked.

"That was…. Curious." Lunafreya commented, placing her palms on he knees to stand back up. "It's… difficult to explain." She started, trying to get her thoughts into words, letting out an annoyed huff of air through her nose. "The line of Oracle keeps the Blight at bay in a very… passive way. It is not something I think about." She gazed about her, curious if her impaired state wakened her light enough for whatever the disease was to spread faster. _But Aranea mentioned seeing this before._ Was there a gap in light in the world from her mother's death and her own ascension? "But I guess I can't directly try to cure the land." She added. "Come on… let's keep going." She got up, ignoring the suggestion that they just turn back.

"They put up the hunt for a reason, let's go kill ourselves a garula and Iggy an cook us some perfect medium-rare steak." Everyone agreed with Gladiolus's declaration and they finished their walk through the dry landscape until they saw the agitated animal chuffing at the bottom of a hill.

"It looks pissed." Prompto observed as they all watched the animal digging at the ground.

"Iggy what's the plan?" Noctis asked.

"You don't wish to simply warp down there and start slashing at it?" Ignis asked, quirking a brow and rubbing at his chin, "perhaps our young Prince here is growing up!" Noctis rolled his eyes and gave his friend the middle finger, getting a chuckle in reply. "I do believe that warping down and catching the animal in the rear flank is our best opener. It will make it difficult for the beast to charge us with a wounded hind." Ignis lacked confidence in this plan, but seeing an agitated animal stomping in an open field he couldn't find a more strategic plan.

"Well come on." Noctis declared, calling forth his Engine Blade and vanished in a blue blur, causing Lunafreya to yelp in surprise and Ignis to curse under his breath. Everyone followed the prince after he successfully warped his blade into the animal's flank near the joint. The still air filled with the pained bellow of the garula as it tried to rear up on its hind legs, a high-pitched squeal making Noctis flinch and stumble back. The others were still a few seconds of sprinting away when the garula turned to charge at him he pulled out his armiger.

Lunafreya's sprint staggered for a moment as her attention was drawn to the blur of blue with black sparks when he summoned his weapons. She called upon her trident and halted her sprint, legs aching for reprieve and she gasped for breath, completely exhausted from the short sprint down the hill. The raging garula dug at the ground, and she caught a glimpse of the black spirals painted across the animal's entire body.

"Noct!" she shouted, throwing out her hand and a brief shimmer of light forced Noctis to squint as her shield came up between him and the wounded garula. Prompto's guns echoed when he fired off the first shot, and everyone descended on the animal. Lunafreya was doubled over, her palms on her knees trying to keep her focus on the fight with the garula, trying to put up pitiful shields that shattered at first impact. An odd pungent scent filled her nostrils, and she forced back memories of Nifleheim hospitals. The edges of her vision grew blurry and she squinted to keep her tunneled sight on the battle before her. Her trident became a crutch, support her sagging frame as a tremor settled into her limbs. The animal fell, and a quick downward slash of Gladiolus's great sword silenced it, and after a few seconds of observation they declared the hunt a success.

"Is it safe to turn our phones on to snap a picture of this thing as proof we did the hunt?" Prompto asked.

"Maybe they won't bitch up a storm if we bring 'em back some steak." Gladuolus answered, kneeing down and tilting his head with a squint to his eyes. Lunafreya tried to steady her breath as she approached them, trident still clutched in her hand. Her vision still blurred at the edges, and the dizziness in her head made her path erratic.

"Whoa... Sparkles!" Crowe shouted, leaping to her feet and rushing to her side, followed by Noctis. Crowe looped an arm under her charge's, helping her to rejoin the group and settle her onto the ground. Closer to the garula the smell grew more intense, and her eyes flicked up to Gladiolus who was getting to his feet and holding one of the garula's legs up, arm out ready to hack off the limb.

"Stop." She commanded. He hesitated,

"I'm hungry." He answered her.

" _Look."_ She insisted, pointing all around them. "You don't smell that?" she asked, looking at everyone. "This creature was blighted." She clarified.

"Oh shit!" Gladiolus dropped the leg, sword vanishing as he backed away, looking at the blood stains on his arms. "Shit…"

"Stop fussing, I'll help. But we need to get the blood off of you or it will simply re-infect." She directed. "It must be from eating all... this." she gestured to the foliage around them.

"Ugh and I was so hungry…" Prompto whined. "That granola bar wasn't enough. Let's get some food for real!" They all concurred that they were quite hungry, Noctis the only one remaining silent as he retained the desire to sit and rest until Lunafreya was better. They debated for a brief time about the wisdom of turning their phones back on to snap of a photo of the hunt, eventually settling on allowing Aranea to turn hers on, hoping that the Empire would simply identify her signal as Nifleheimer and not part of the royal retinue. Lunafreya was able to get back onto her feet, her vision returning and some of the ache in her legs dulling. She vanished her trident, the object feeling too heavy to keep using it as a walking stick.

"I'll be quite happy to get a hot meal in my stomach." Lunafreya smiled to Noctis to keep his concerned questions at bay. Her eyes trained on her feet, tunnel vision returning and she bit down on her lip as she grew impatient with herself. She knew she would feel better with time, but meanwhile her impaired state left her feeling apprehensive.

"Back to Hammerhead?" Ignis suggested. "Obtain a hot meal at Takka's and bring the King up to speed on our situation?"

"Yeah." Noctis answered simply, and made a mental note to also get some guidance from his father regarding which royal arms to gather next.

"Meanwhile how do I wash myself?! I need to get this infected blood off me!" Gladiolus barked, gathering the attention of his friends as he looked between his hands and forearms, and the patchy grass and black-stained plants. This caused a hesitation in the group, Prompto the first to speak up.

"Wasn't there a shower back at the hunter hub?"

"That would pose a risk to others." Lunafreya quickly countered. "We would be bringing the blight into their camp and infected blood into their communal shower. While I could provide aid to those infected it would be a… taxing venture. Simply washing with a water bottle from the car should provide adequate."

"Ugh I'll need to bathe in peroxide once we get to Hammerhead." Gladiolus grumbled. "Well let's hurry to the car before I look like those husks we saw in that base." He grumbled and made a hasty retreat back to the car, his friends quickly following behind.

The Regalia's keys were still in Ignis's pocket, causing an impatient Gladiolus to pace around the car for the few extra steps it took for his friend to unlock the Regalia's trunk and withdraw a water bottle. The Shield twisted off the cap and cast it onto the ground, pouring the contents onto his hands and madly rubbing them together.

"Gods I feel filthy…" he grumbled.

"Chill, you got the Oracle in your back pocket!" Prompto tried to cheer.

"That's like saying it's just the clap, go take some Cipro!" Gladiolus barked back. Prompto snorted, arms wrapping around his own ribs, cackling.

"Know from experience?" he wiggled his brows, and ducked to dodge the half-empty water bottle Gladiolus threw at him before he resumed scrubbing his hands, having pulled a black tee-shirt from the car as well to scrub himself with.

"Gladiolus, please, stop." Lunafreya gently called to him, approaching to place a hand on his shoulder. "Let me help, you've sufficiently cleansed yourself."

"I won't feel clean until I bathe in peroxide, maybe a few bottles of vodka, and probably fire too." He grumbled in answer, ceasing his frantic scrubbing only when Lunafreya grabbed both of his wrists. He tensed expression softened when he looked down at her, trying to offer him a small smile and another reassurance. He remembered the last time she healed him. The warmth and peace that ran through him, and bent over to let it flood him once more.

"Are you feeling better?" she inquired once she stepped back, the absence of her light almost making him chilled at the remnants of her light faded. He nodded, chewing the corner of his tongue almost feeling like speaking at this moment would be sacrilegious. They piled into the car, making the drive back to the hunter hub to turn in their hunt. They were pleasantly surprised to find this promoted Crowe's hunter level, which would allow them to take better-paying hunts in the future.

Turning away from the hub, the general mood of the car was light, and even Noctis found himself tapping his hand on the side of the car, music playing through the speakers and the top rolled back allowing the wind to tussle them and make conversation impossible. Noctis turned to Lunafreya, again sitting in the middle seat, and couldn't help the smile upon seeing her hum along to the song, wondering if it had been coming onto the radio frequently enough for her to learn it or if it was something she recognized from Tenebrae.

"Uhh… guys?" Prompto cut in, shouting over the wind. "Look behind us," the blond man was sitting upright in his chair, despite murmuring from Ignis not to get himself killed. But he ignored his friend, pointing at the road behind the car. They followed his gesture, save for Ignis, and looked behind the car.

"Shit…" Gladiolus murmured. Three Imperial airships were becoming visible just beyond the horizon, moving east towards the hunter hub they had just departed. Ignis tilted his head to get a better look in the rearview mirror, cursing under his breath and pulling the car to the shoulder of the road.

"What do we do?" Prompto asked, looking around to his friends. Crowe pulled the motorcycle up, Aranea climbing down from behind her,

"What's going on?" she asked, then looked where everyone was staring and cursed as the others had. "Well shit we gotta do something!"

"What can we do?" Ignis tried to provide.

" _Help!"_ Crowe barked back, pointing in the distance.

"Those are puppet ships." Aranea clarified for them, hand on her forehead as she squinted at the distance. "They have at least twenty puppets each. I don't think our little rag-tag group can take on sixty puppets."

"With all the hunters there we sure as shit could stand a chance!" Crowe barked back, stepping around and closer to Aranea, face inches apart, letting out an angry breath through her nose.

"So we get the Oracle all patched up, the High Commander comes recommending we turn our phones off keep ourselves from being murdered, and haul ass down the road only to walk right into their arms?" Aranea snapped back, trying to stand taller but still half a head shorter than the other woman.

"So you think we should just abandon the people who just saved Sparkles' ass?"

"Unfortunately yes." Aranea insisted, stepping back to put distance between her and Crowe. The latter turned to her friends, gesturing at the dragoon,

"Well _someone_ talk some sense into her!"

"Crowe… I do believe that she is being prudent." Ignis spoke carefully, stepping out of the car.

"Since when do we just let the Empire do what it wants? We took out that base." Gladiolus joined the debate, arms crossed. Noctis curled his lip, eyeing the debate carefully. He drummed his fingers on his thigh, eyes flickering between Lunafreya and the airships in the distance.

"Well we don't have a lotta time guys…" Prompto added.

"If Aranea is correct-"

"And how do we know she is?" Crowe interrupted.

"Has she lied to us yet?" Ignis quipped, pushing his glasses up his nose his voice deeper as he snapped back at Crowe.

"War sucks." Aranea snapped. "And sometimes you make the shitty choice! Be realistic! You think that we're any match?!"

"So we should just let them be slaughtered?!"

"Yes!" Aranea snapped, fists balled at her sides. "So we can keep them from doing it to someone else! If we rush back now we'll find sixty puppets against the seven of us, and one of us is an Oracle still trying to be not-dead!"

"Then we die with some shred if decency!" Crowe declared, lifting her head.

"Crowe, I implore you to see reason." Ignis cut in. "The High Commander sought us out to provide a warning to avoid us encountering that. If you don't wish to accept that, then remember you are Shield to the Oracle. Your goal is to keep her safe, and to keep her away from the Empire at any cost. So make a choice." Ignis's calm voice made her bite down on her lip, cheeks flushing as she tried to control her tone, the many replies swarming her mind fighting over which one would come out of her mouth.

"I… I can't stand the thought of…" her voice trailed off, turning with her eyes focused on something far beyond the car, brows knitting together. "We're just letting them attack those people who helped us. Well Noct time to be a Prince and order your damn people around. What do we do?" she asked. He paused, muscles standing in his neck as he clenched his jaw, knuckles flushed white as he pushed his fist into the edge of the seat.

"I don't think there's anything we can do."

"That's a statement not a choice!" Crowe snapped, brows knit together. "Sparkles! I'm your shield so I follow you and Noct here is so whipped he'll follow your choice so speak up."

"My brother would not have advised fleeing if he felt we were a match for what they were sending." She admitted, placing a palm over her ribs, sure she could feel the pain reigniting within them. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She pictured herself standing before Caligo, but rather than conjure thoughts of fighting back, of Noctis setting the man aflame, Prompto putting a hole in his forehead and a far messier one in the back of his skull; old pains flared throughout her body as fear threatened to take her. "The empire has committed a great many evils… we should heed Ravus's advice, as much as it pains my heart. We need to go to hammerhead." _We need to save our star._

"Maybe they'll just ask really rudely where we went and leave em alone?" Prompto tried to suggest. "I mean. If they just massacre random people they might cause an uprising."

"War sucks." Aranea grumbled. "Get back on the bike. Once they realize we aren't at that hub they'll probably start by checking the main roads. We should use the shitty cow-trails that you call back-roads on this continent." Her eyes remained focused on the three moving ships as she spoke, fingers flexing next to the holster on her thigh. She turned, seeing the others slowly getting back into the Regalia, Crowe walking to the bike after hesitating.

"Take turns, Prompto get your skinny ass on the bike." She asked.

"Uhh… sure." He agreed. Aranea took his spot in shotgun, the gunman climbing onto the bike behind Crowe. Ignis briefly consulted his map, sighing as he tried to find the easiest path to Hammerhead that didn't use the main road. With a sigh, he shifted the car into gear and pulled back onto the road.

Ignis's estimate of one hour proved an underestimate, it taking nearly ninety minutes before they arrived at the garage. Noctis felt stiff, the scar in his back burning and the numbness shooting down his bad leg. During the long drive Lunafreya had fallen asleep against his shoulder, and he shifted carefully to wake her without startling her.

"I'm going to find Cid, I suggest we hide the Regalia inside. This car is a bit… distinct." Ignis explained with a note of affection in his voice.

"I'll bring Luna to the trailer. I can catch up with my dad in a bit." Noctis answered him, getting a nod.

"Don't be too misbehaved! That thing has thin walls!" Prompto teased, getting a middle finger from Noctis. "Come on big guy, you've been like totally silent all afternoon… let's feed you so you can go back to running your mouth!" he suggested to Gladiolus.

"Good idea. Hope Takka got a delivery recently! Could eat a dozen burgers on my own." The friends walked away from the car, Aranea joining Ignis, Crowe catching up to Prompto and Gladiolus after announcing her own hunger and steak craving after the disappointment at not being able to eat the slain garula. Noctis shifted in the seat, trying to rouse Lunafreya from her sleep. She mumbled, blinking several times before turning her attention to him.

"Hey… we're at Hammerhead." He explained, getting a nod. He stepped out of the car, giving her a few seconds to finish waking up before she shimmied to the edge of the seat, accepting his outstretched hand to help her stand up.

"Should we find your father?" she asked, and he shook his head at her.

"Let's get you resting in the trailer first." She frowned for a moment but nodded, and walked with him to the trailer. "You hungry? I can go get you something at Takka's"

"Not quite hungry, but likely the wise decision would be to eat something." She admitted.

"I'll go see if he has anything that isn't meat with even more meat."

"Well…" she paused, glancing around them. "Perhaps food can wait just a few minutes? We haven't had a chance to be alone in quite some time." A flush overtook her cheeks, staining her face red to the tips of her ears.

"What if I go get food and we make it a dinner date?" he suggested.

"Hmm… quite a romantic suggestion, what have you done with my Noct?" she quirked a brow at him. He played at shoving her shoulder, narrowing his eyes at her and she stuck her tongue out in answer. He opened the trailer's door for her and she climbed up the two stairs.

"I'll go get some food and then we can both meet up with my dad." He suggested and she nodded. With the trailer door shut Lunafreya walked to the bed at the end, lifting herself onto it, groaning in frustration at how her limbs immediately felt sore with exhaustion. She climbed up to the head of the bed, lying down to close her eyes for just a minute, thinking to herself that she would get up to look for a place setting to set the table.

A loud banging against the metallic trailer door caused Lunafreya to flinch, blinking away sleep as her heart raced in her chest. _I fell asleep?_ She wondered for a moment, calling out that she was coming. She got up from the bed, the same frustrating soreness in her limbs from the effort, opening the door for Noctis who was balancing a tray with two large bowls of food and other miscellaneous items. Her brows shot up and she reached out to grab it from him, setting it on the table.

"Did you fall asleep?" He asked, Lunafreya nodding with a grimace. "You didn't hear when I tried to tap at the door, had to knock pretty hard to get you to answer. Made me wonder if you went for a walk or something." He explained.

"I'll be back to myself in due time." She replied, "Perhaps a good night sleep in a proper bed will set me straight." She suggested, sitting at the small fold-down table where she had placed the tray of food. Noctis sat across from her, reaching for one of the bowls.

"What did he have? It smells lovely." She commented.

"Got some peppers from Lestallum so it's a spicy noodle soup. I got him to put some beans in it for you so its more than just noodles and pepper."

"Thank you," she smiled, accepting the fork and spoon he was holding out to her. "Oh! This is delicious!" Noctis nodded his agreement, swallowing a large bite of food. They ate, Lunafreya remaining quiet while her Prince talked about the various royal arms still left to collect.

"With those royal arms… your armiger, something about it appeared odd back there." Lunafeya recalled the black sparks in the spinning blue weapons.

"What do you mean?" He lifted a brow, pausing before taking another bite of food.

"There were black sparks." She stated plainly.

"When? Today?" he asked. She nodded, stirring her noodles before taking another bite; her hunger catching up to her now that she'd eaten several bites. "I felt fine…" he ambled, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck before assessing his hands, turning them over and gazing at his arms.

"I don't sense the blight on you." She offered as reassurance. "I just found it rather odd. Perhaps we should ask your father?" she suggested.

"Maybe. But it could be because I was using the armiger with only a couple of arms." He countered. "I mean, Lucis's color is black. It's been the royal color for as far back as we can see. Maybe that's got to do with it."

"Maybe." She accepted with a shrug.

"Or the ring… no one in my family has ever tried to use the armiger without that Ring of the Lucii." He continued. She paused, not having given the ring much thought before.

"I hadn't thought of that." She admitted. "Perhaps talk to your father about it."

"Yeah." He nodded. "How you feeling? Better I'm guessing with some food in you."

"Gods I didn't recognize how hungry I was until I started eating." She confessed. "Though, there is one more thing I believe could do me some good." She added.

"Yeah?" Noctis asked, lifting a brow. "The store has plenty of energy drinks, need me to make something? Or get ebony from Ignis? I think there's a coffee pot in the cabinet." He listed off.

"No, you dork. Come over here." She got up from her seat, reaching her hand out and pulling him to his feet. She linked her hands behind his neck and stood on her toes to greet his lips, a light brush before settling back onto her heels.

"Oh." he answered finally.

"You sure your suggestions weren't just your own inner wants? We can certainly leave the trailer to ask Ignis for some coffee."

"When I'm finally alone with you?" He quipped back, sliding arms behind her back, tugging her closer to him.

"My ramen breath isn't a mood-killer?" she asked, tilting her head a bit when he tried to lean in for a kiss.

"Never." He answered her, chasing the tilt to her head finally catching her in a kiss. He felt her weight shift as she gave into the tug in his arms, answering the prodding of his tongue against her bottom lip and she greeted it with her own. She shifted a hand to the back of his head, ruffling through his hair, the other gripping the back of his shirt. She felt her own shirt lift, Noctis's thumb tracing circles in that way that sent goosebumps rolling down her arm.

"I think I can get used to you wearing normal shirt and pants." He murmured, breaking the kiss only long enough to speak. Her reply caught within her throat when lips met lips, tongue met tongue. Fingers traced along her back, her shirt hitched up further as his fingers lightly brushed her with a touch so light she giggled from the tickle of it. She stood on her toes to press deeper into the kiss, both arms winding behind his neck to hold him closer against her.

It almost felt too hot, holding onto each other so closely with the afternoon heat in the metal trailer. But the comfort of his arms was a welcome price. He pressed against her, and she followed the lead as he pushed her away from the table. Her shirt lifted further and she let go of shoulders, lifting her arms above her head to allow Noctis to remove her shirt.

"A sports bra?" he remarked, fingers brushing against her chest, just above the edge of the fabric.

"Crowe thought it would be more practical." Lunafreya answered, looking down at herself.

"You look… _hot_." He remarked, feeling some heat in his cheeks.

"Maybe I should take it off then? Your clothes must be stifling in this heat as well." She answered.

"No I mean…" he paused, scratching the back of his neck. "You look good in one." He clarified, and he smiled at the way her cheeks turned red. "I mean, sure, you look even better with it off," he added with a cheeky smile. She laughed, playfully slapping at his arm. She pressed her forehead just below his neck, letting out a long sigh.

"I feel exhausted already. Does that make me pathetic?" she asked, turning her head so her ear was against his chest, listening to his heart.

"You need to sleep a little more?" he asked, gently massaging the back of her neck.

"Not just yet…" she answered. "Get a girl excited then suggest a nap? You trying to be a tease?" she asked. He chuckled, the sound reverberating through his chest and tickling her ear. Sleep was a tempting throughout, the ache in her limbs almost begging for her to crawl into the bed. "We haven't been alone… I'd like to take advantage." She admitted.

"Me too." He reached out, a palm lightly resting against her cheek, his thumb lightly stroking back and forth. His other hand reached for hers, bringing her hand up, placing a kiss to the top of her hand, lips lingering for just a moment. The sensation sent a chill through Lunafreya, and she bit down on her lip as she let her mind wander. She withdrew her hand, again linking her arms behind his neck as she tried to pull him back, reaching behind her to feel the edge of the bed.

She indulged him for a minute, simply sighing against his mouth and savoring the feel of his tongue against hers. She whispered his name, her hands moving to grip the front of his shirt, tugging him to try and get him to follow her onto the bed. But one of his hands played with her ear, thumb teasing her earlobe in that way that sent shivers down her limbs. She broke their kiss, getting a whine from Noctis so she could reach behind her and pull herself onto the bed, reaching out for Noctis's hand. He reached out, their fingers curling around each other's and she pulled him towards her onto the bed. She shifted back to reach the pillows, laying back as Noctis crawled over to her.

His lips came to her neck, holding himself up with his hands. She parted her knees, and he was careful to keep his weight off of her. She turned her head, arching her back and winding her arms around his torso to pull him down to her. The light touches and gentle kisses against her neck were only driving her mind wild and she let out a huff of air through her nose,

"Noct…" her voice was low, thick with impatience. "I won't break." She added when he responded only with another delicate brush of fingertips against her stomach. She responded by sliding her hands beneath his shirt, raking her nails down his back. He moaned against her neck, teeth bearing down lightly on the spot. She almost advised him not to leave a mark but he soothed the spot with a roll of his tongue, and a gentle kiss. He shifted, finally laying his weight against her and she welcomed that pressure that made her feel engulfed, safe. She drew her fingers along his sides, bringing them to his hips so she could grip the hem of his shirt, sliding it back up in a slow and careful dance of fingertips, the hairs on his arms standing on end as goosebumps rushed down his limbs.

"Gods Luna…" he mumbled, clashing his lips against hers once more as soon as his shirt had been cast aside. He found her wrist, gripping it and pinning it next to her head, his other arm holding himself up. She gave a roll of her hips, and her breath tickled his cheek as she exhaled hard through her nose. "I love you…"

"And I you." His tongue brushed against her neck, his lips next. He whispered another devotion into her skin, the rumble of his voice tickling that spot below her earlobe. She arched her back and rolled her hips again, and he rolled his own in reply. His thumb pressed into her wrist, and she flexed her fingers, twining them with his until his thumb pushed instead against the back of her hand.

A rapping on the door pulled them apart, Lunafreya gasping at the startle, Noctis rolling off of her and cursing under his breath. He grabbed his shirt, shouting that he would be just a moment. Lunafreya sat up, shimmying to the edge of the bed and picking up her shirt from where they discarded it in front of the table.

"All I wish for is a moment alone…" Lunafreya whispered chewing on her bottom lip, sitting back down at the table where they ate their lunch and crossed her legs and tried to collect herself and banish her intimate thoughts hoping the crimson would fade from her cheeks by the time whomever was at the door would see her.

"Maybe it's just Prompto being an ass." Noctis suggested in a hopeful tone, and gave her a glance before walking over to the door and opening it, flinching and his brows lifting.

"Dad?"

"Hey son…" Regis greeted with a small smile, turning his head to look at the very red-faced Lunafreya. "Am I interrupting… a _chat_ between you two?" he asked.

"No." Noctis and Lunafreya answered together almost instantly. Noctis cleared this throat, gesturing for his father to enter,

"We just finished eating lunch."

"I just wanted to talk to you, I can return later if-"

"It's fine. Come on in." Noctis beckoned, and Regis stepped up into the trailer, sitting down on the small couch directly across from the door.

"How are you both?"

"We have a lot to talk about." Noctis sighed.

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! And poor Lunoct, they just can't catch a break. I promise I won't keep interrupting them like this. And I hope the fluff was adequate. Questioned myself a bit on it, but I question myself all the time anyway much to the chagrin of my beta-reader who is probably ready to slap me silly at this point.


	35. Coffee Break

Hey guys! Encountered a... frustrating problem. So I've been writing on Microsoft Word for all eternity. My new laptop's version once "expired" wants $100/year to let me continue to use the program. In the past I could just... ignore that message and keep using it.  
So I tried to install another writing program. Despite having 3x the required space my laptop keeps saying inadequate space to install it.  
So NOW I'm using google doc. My issue with this program is that if my wifi is acting up it lags so horribly that it's almost impossible to type. At the speed I type it's always 1-2 sentences behind so I essentially type blind. So I'm working on this but with the format changes it might cause hiccups posting this chapter, though I hope it still reads well.

* * *

Regis listened quietly while Noctis talked about recent events. He bit down on his bottom lip periodically, eyes flickering between his father's furrowed brow and the scratched plastic table of the trailer. He drummed his fingers against his thigh as he blinked through memories of those mangled husks of men in the beds of the Nifleheimer base, the voice of Titan, the faces of the people at the hunter hub who helped them. He felt cold fingers wrap around his hand and squeeze. He tried to give Lunafreya a smile, instead his lips were thinned and his brow furrowed. He let out a long sigh through his nose, turning his attention back to his father letting a silence hang between them for a moment.

"I first wish to ask are the both of you all right?" the King began, glancing between them. There was a pause before Lunafreya nodded, Noctis nodding shortly after her as his gaze fell back down upon the scratched table. "These have not been easy times." Regis sighed and sat back for a moment Noctis could see the regal King look more like a tired man.

"No." Noctis agreed, running his hands through his hair and blowing out a long breath. An ache throbbed through most of his body, a sharp burn developing in his lower back and running through his left leg, pins and needles taunting his toes. "My leg is acting up today." He mumbled, rubbing his thigh with the heel of his hand.

"Perhaps we could take a walk? Certain days a walk can ease the pain in my leg." Regis suggested. Noctis nodded, hoping to knead away this sensation in his leg. He glanced over at Lunafreya, and the dark circles that rimmed her eyes. He could see her trying to sit properly, though there was a slight slouch to her usual posture.

"Why don't you get some sleep while my dad and I walk?" He asked.

"Perhaps I should." She answered. Noctis slid to the edge of the little seat to allow her to get up. Her cheeks glowed pink for a moment before she stood on her toes to place a kiss on his cheek, settling back onto her heels and reaching for his hand. "When I wake back up perhaps we can go to Takka's for a meal and coffee?"

"Yeah, that'll be great." He agreed with a small smile that she returned. She gave his hand another squeeze and nodded at him to encourage him to follow his father out of the trailer.

"Enjoy your walk." She encouraged when he was still rooted to the spot, slipping her hand out of his and taking a step backwards to turn and climb onto the bed in the back of the trailer. Noctis let out a puff of air and ran a hand through his hair before finally joining his father. He clicked the door behind him and stepped down the unsteady stairs, rubbing at his thigh and tapping his leg to try and regain some normal sensation.

"How's Hammerhead been?" Noctis asked, unsure how to resume conversation. He glanced up the road, searching for smoke on the horizon, or black rectangles in the sky. He didn't hear his father's answer, "Did I do the right thing? Running away like that?"

"Running away?" Regis asked, Noctis stepping up his pace and eyes still scanning the distance.

"When those Nif airships were going to that hunter hub… They. They saved Luna's life and we just drove away when we saw the airships going there." Noctis cleared his throat after a brief stammer to recapture strength in his voice. The silence after his question hung thick in the air, his brow furrowing as his nose wrinkled.

"Sometimes situations leave us with only on option. Even if it's a wrong option." Regis finally replied. Noctis turned to his father, and saw the distance in his eyes before he turned his gaze to his son. "The wall around Insomnia." He stated simply, looking down at his ruined hand. Noctis flexed his own hand in mirror of how Regis curled the fresh scars on the mangled appendage. "Tell me son. What could I have done against all the might of Nifleheim." Another thick silence.

"There really wasn't anything." He finally answered, shifting his weight off his burning leg and dropping his hand by his side, fingers curled in a fist.

"Then what could the seven of you done against three airships of Nifleheim's MagiTek soldiers?" The wrinkle between Noctis's brow grew deeper as his lip twitched in a grimace. He looked over his shoulder again, at the clear blue sky. He wondered if Ramuh would have answered his call and simply fried the motherboards in the metallic brains of the puppets, or simply blow the airships out of the sky. He could hear Lunafreya's voice in the back of his mind scolding him for the thought. _They aren't just some weapon I can summon to help us in the war._ But if he could convince the astrals that fighting Niflehiem would help fight the blight?

"I could have _helped_." He chose to answer instead, voice deep with frustration. "Instead we just drove away!" he snapped.

"And I locked out ten citizens for every one I sheltered inside the wall."

"You had no choice." Noctis answered in a knee-jerk reaction. The words drilled into him since childhood. The answer automatically given by the media when the television or radio would start to recall the story of the wall's apparition. The explanation Ignis would remind him of when he grasped at any excuse to criticize his father with the idiocy of entering his teenaged years. The same answer Lunafreya would give him whenever he would succumb to the gnawing guilt and sorrow for leaving her behind the day Niflehim slaughtered her mother.

"No more choice than you had today." Regis closed the distance between him and his son, his good hand reaching out and landing hard and heavy on Noctis's shoulder. He could feel tears threatening to sing his eyes and he bit down on the back of his tongue to try and retain control of himself. He let go of the fists balled by his sides, fingertips prickling as blood rushed back into them.

"I'll get back at them." He ground out. Anger swept over the guilt and the sorrow of his actions, regret giving way to the threat of rage.

"Son… please. See reason. War is an ugly thing, but you cannot allow to cloud your mind. How is dearest Luna?" Regis asked. Noctis let out a long breath, running both hands through his hair, tugging at it slightly before dropping his hands by his sides.

"Better than before I guess. Or so she says. It's hard to tell sometimes, she still looks pretty tired." Noctis answered.

"She'll rebound with some rest." Regis answered, though Noctis didn't hear the usual conviction in his father's tone.

"Yeah." Noctis answered. "A part of me always thought, or hoped, the stuff with the astrals, the crystal… the blight. All of it. Was just some stupid story." He admitted to his father. He could remember sitting on the edge of a bed with white sheets while Lunafreya read to him from some book talking about the astrals. He imaged himself as some great hero standing in front of the astral, the giant who looked like a living statue, and beating him to defend the princess and save the day.

"When I took you before the crystal…" Regis began, hesitating. His eyes drifted to the ground, the limp in his walk becoming more noticeable. The waver in his stance made Noctis realize that his father didn't have his cane. "Deep down… I hoped you were not the chosen. I never wanted you to carry this burden." Noctis flinched hearing this from his father, a burning sensation starting in his stomach leaving the taste of bile in the back of his throat as he recalled that day.

Walking through the Citadel's dark corridors, he was led by his father and flanked by their shields, into a large chamber in which was a large crystal that looked more like a fractured amethyst geode. The air seemed to pulse around it like he was approaching a great sleeping beast, the air chilled and he clutched at his arms. He had hesitated at the doorway, the pulsing almost felt like sound, his name being called to urge him on. He stepped into the silent room, glancing up at his father who nodded at him, placing a hard hand on his shoulder. He approached the towering crystalline power, his heart throbbing in his chest matching the pulse in the air. His fingertips grew numb with the chill around him. A whine escaped him as she felt his muscles jerk, feeling like every inch of skin had received a static shock. The chill melted away and he felt altogether too hot. His breath quickened, and he ran a hand over his forehead already soaked with sweat. He flinched at the discomfort of it, looking at his hands and could see ice crystals building over them.

Noctis squinted and shook his head, remembering how his imaginings of being some amazing hero like in his comic books, or the knights in Lunafreya's books, vanished with the pain wracking his body. As magic settled into his veins and the throbbing in the air felt like his name being chanted from every direction. He had spent an entire day lost in a nightmare filled fever-induced sleep, the final moments inside that chamber lost to his memory. The magic of his ancestors had awakened, and his father had told him the crystal glowed forever more after that day. Noctis remember asking his father if he could hear, or rather feel, the odd pulsing in the air that had been chanting his name; Regis answering that the chamber was completely silent, even the usual echoes of the Citadel had failed to reach inside it.

"When Luna read me those books I don't think either of us thought it would be like this. Well… _I_ didn't." He clarified after a moment and grimaced. He remembered Lunafreya's reserved letter after he wrote to her about the crystal choosing him, of her expressing her happiness that she knew he would be the one to save their star. He had expressed his own excitement when she was ordained as Oracle.

"It must be a powerful moment, to stand before an astral and be granted his blessing." Regis mused. Noctis's lip curled and he shook his head.

"Nothing that fancy. It just… sucks." He let out a long sigh, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "I don't know if it's the crystal, or our ancestors, or just the universe being an asshole. But its always harder for her to wake the astral up than it is for me to make the covenant. I just felt like I had the world's worst headache, then got hit by a car after. Luna… she was throwing up blood, had nosebleeds, got these weird red rashes and bruises. I thought this was just my burden. Why do they have to kick her ass too?" he asked, looking up at his father. Regis turned and saw frustration and sorrow in his son's eyes.

"I suppose I could recite to you a passage from any of the books on the astrals, or the words my own father gave to me when I was given the Ring." His expression relaxed and grew distant for a moment, his gaze fixed on something behind Noctis before his attention returned to his son. "But I think of your mother instead." Noctis shifted his weight between his legs hearing his father bring up the subject of his mother. He couldn't remember her, nor could he remember enough conversations about her to have a proper image of the woman in his mind. Only the picturesque mental image of a near-perfect human his childhood imagination had created to cope with her absence. "Destiny fucking sucks."

Noctis laughed. He couldn't help it. Hearing his father curse, imagining the Queen of Lucis standing there and cursing at the King. He pressed a fist under his nose and sniffled, trying to regain control of his voice as he recollected himself. The corners of Regis's eyes wrinkled as he smiled and reached out, patting Noctis firmly on the shoulder.

"Destiny does fucking suck." He agreed. "Just why does it have to suck for Luna too?"

"Aulea used to wonder the same thing, especially whenever I was forced to use the Ring. I recommend you get her something sugary to eat when she wakes up. Your mother used to always cheer me with cupcakes." Noctis's brows lifted at this,

"I didn't know you liked sweets."

"Just because I am King and must act accordingly, does not mean I was beyond devouring a plate of treats and rubbing frosting on your mother's nose." The image made Noctis smile again, picturing his father with a younger face streaking frosting down his mother's nose. He wondered what her laugh sounded like, and with a pain in his chest wondered what his father's laughter sounded like. Regis stepped closer, arms enveloping him and pulling him against his chest. The King's hands clapped hard against Noctis's back, and he reached up and returned his father's embrace. The two men stood there, arms around each other and wondering why the hell their family was the one selected by an angry interdimensional space rock to somehow kick an equally enigmatic diseases' ass.

"I do mean it, about the sugar. If I recall, Luna does have quite the sweet tooth."

"Yeah, she could even put me to shame in a sugar-wolfing contest." Noctis chuckled, and sniffled when he felt his nose about to run. He pressed his fist to his nose again, swallowing back the lump in his throat and blinking away the burning in his eyes. "Wonder if Takka has something."

"I'll let you in on a secret. The frosting-filled cupcakes in the store beats the hockey pucks Takka bakes. The man makes the best griddle food you could want, but by some curse cannot seem to master an oven." Noctis chuckled at Regis's suggestion, rubbing the heel of his hand under his eye to brush away the tear he felt moistening his skin. "Just don't tell him I said that."

"Your secret is safe with me."

"I know you plan to dine with Luna in a bit, but would you like to join me for coffee at the diner?"

"Yeah, I could go for coffee."

The inside of the diner was typically uncomfortably hot. The building lacked proper air conditioning and the summer sun bore down over head, the griddle pumping ever more heat into the small room . But this day there was a strong breeze that forced its way through the diner windows cooling off the boxcar sized building. It was still warmer than outside, and Noctis shrugged off his jacket a few moments after stepping inside. Regis led them to the booth at the far end, sitting down with a groan and stretching out his bad leg, brace creaking with the effot.

"Your Grace," Takka called over clumsily. "What can I do you for?"

"Just some coffee." Regis answered. Takka placed a mug in front of each of them as well as a small tin of cream, going back behind his counter. Noctis reached for the sugar packets, and lifted a brow when he saw his father doing the same.

"I thought you liked your coffee black?" Noctis asked, flicking the open ends of the packets to get all of the sugar to come out.

"Your mother liked cream and sugar in her coffee. She had a sweet tooth that could even put you to shame. It's likely where you got it from." Regis looked up to something behind Noctis, but the prince was preoccupied stirring some of the cream into his mug.

"Luna has a sweet tooth. Pretty sure she could just eat a sugar packet and be happy. Yet she drinks her coffee black. She's a little weird."

"Because she has good taste." Ignis's familiar voice answered. Noctis turned around and gave his friend a smile,

"Hey," he scooted in to make room.

"Your Grace," Ignis gave a bow, finally sitting after receiving a nod and a gesture from Regis.

"What's up Ig?" Noctis asked, taking a sip of his coffee, wincing, and reaching for another sugar packet. Ignis pinched the bridge of his nose, a subtle shake of his head before placing a book on the table.

"I've been reading. Trying to focus on our next destination." Noctis winced, covering it by bringing his mug to his mouth, this time satisfied by the sweetness of the drink. Ignis began to list the royal arms and their locations, the explanation turning into a word salad in his head, holding little meaning.

"So which one next?" he asked.

"The Tomb of the Mystic, it's near where you made the covenant withTitan." Ignis explained. Noctis gave an exasperated sigh.

"Wait what?!" he jerked, sitting up straight and setting his mug down. "How… how do we do that? The meteor came crashing down! Is that tomb even still there?" he made a mad gesture, both arms jutting out with his palms up, "And you remember how everything there was all… blighted?"

"It is worth the investigation. You must collect all the arms." Ignis insisted.

"I have to agree with Mister Scientia." Regis cut in, both young men shifting attention to the King. "You are ordained to collect the arms of your ancestors." Noctis grabbed his coffee, swirling it before taking a sip. His father didn't collect all of the ancestral weapons, yet the Ring didn't reject him, rather. _But he didn't have to go and try to prove his worth to gods._ He argued with himself.

"What happens if we get there and everything is buried?"

"Perhaps Titan would lend his aid." Ignis suggested. Takka approached the table with the new occupant, bowing to his King before asking for an order.

"Just coffee please." Ignis requested. Takka bowed again, Noctis shifting in his seat and taking the last swig of his coffee as the man left the table. "With the money we earned from doing hunts we need to stock up on provisions."

"Oh, good idea." Noctis answered. He reached into his pockets, a blue flash of sparks appearing for an instant and he placed an energy drink on the table. "I was down to one. And I'm guessing Gladio is almost out of cup noodle."

"A truly devastating fact. We must ensure such an emergency does not occur again."

"Lest the world fall to ruin. But some instant food is a good backup in case something happens." Noctis suggested. Ignis wrinkled his nose but nodded, admitting that dried foods had a use in certain situations.

"How is our Lady Lunafreya holding up?" Ignis asked.

"Napping in the trailer. I should get back soon. But how's everyone else? _Where_ is everyone else?" Noctis asked, taking a quick glance outside.

"About," Ignis started, listing off his friends as if he were reading an inventory of their supplies. Aranea had left on the motorcycle to a nearby hub to purchase some parts Cid needed to tune the thing up, as well as a few components he needed for his own projects. Gladiolus had decided to join her to ensure the dragoon wouldn't vanish with the bike and Cid's money. Prompto was in the garage attempting to assist Cindy with something, Crowe sticking with him to make sure he didn't drive the poor mechanic crazy.

"Even with all this coffee I'm still trying not to faceplant this table, I think I'm gonna go back to the trailer." Noctis answered.

"Rest up. I advise we leave early tomorrow morning, it may take many hours to get to the tomb."

"Rest too man. Take care dad."

"Sleep easy." Regis replied with a tilt of his head. Noctis waved his father off and left the diner after placing a few gil on the table to pay for his coffee. A brief stop in the shop next to the garage to buy the treats for Lunafreya, as well as some energy drinks that vanished into his pocket and some cup noodles to surprise his Shield with later. The condoms took a moment of pension, nervous that the clerk would inform his father, or start rumors about the crowned Prince. But the man showed no interest in any of the times the purchased. He crossed the parking lot and stepped up into the trailer, the tin box almost uncomfortably hot, but without his jacket it was bearable. Lunafreya was curled on her side, the blanket on the bed kicked off to the edge of the bed, partway on the floor. He watched her for a moment, frowning when he realized her expression was alternating between wincing and relaxing, and the periodic twitch in her eye. Noctis approached the bed and leaned his weight on it,

"Luna?" he whispered to her, but she didn't stir. Her breath was coming through her nose in sharp huffs between normal breaths. He grimaced, watching her shift in her sleep, drawing her knees closer to her chest. He repeated her name, reaching out to lightly tap at her foot. She flinched, her eyes scrunching. "Luna! Hey! I think you're having a nightmare…" he called, raising his voice. She flinched again at his touch, her whimpers turning into a gasp as she rolled onto her back. She shot out her hand, a flash of light and a shield appeared at the end of the bed, pushing him away and he fell back hitting the floor with a grunt.

"N… Noct?" she called out with a quiver to her voice. She had to clear her throat to rid herself of the gravel in her tone, calling his name again with more clarity.

"Ugh… wow… didn't expect that…" he murmured, standing up and rubbing at his buttock and lower back. The impact with the floor reignited the flame in his back and leg, the pain surging back and he had to lean against the foot of the bed. "startled me is all." He tried to assure her. She pressed her palms to her forehead, rubbing roughly and blinking the blur from her vision.

"I'm in the trailer?" she asked, looking around with furrowed brows.

"Yeah. Remember? We came in here so you could take a nap." He explained to her. "Well. We had… less innocent intentions," he added with a smirk. He looked up to her, hoping to see her returning the silly grin but she was still pouting, brow knit tightly together.

"Sorry that was… A bizarre dream." She sighed, "Did I knock you over? Did I dream that too?" she asked, crawling over to the foot of the bed. Noctis reached out to keep her from sliding off of it, his hands on her knees. She settled herself to sit on the edge, reaching out to brush some hair from his face. "I did… didn't it?" she asked. The furrow deepened and her frown drew lines around her mouth and nose.

"Nightmare?"

"I… Yes." Noctis climbed onto the bed beside her, sliding his arm around her waist to urge her to lean her weight against him. He had to tug her to get her to follow his prompt. She leaned over, nesting her head against his arm and let out a long sigh.

"What was it about?"

"I suppose recent events must have been running through my head. Black airships dropped down puppets, but all of them were Titan, and all of them were covered in black swirls. But somehow we were indoors?" she voice raised with confusion as she tried to recall the rapidly fading images. She rubbed her arms, "but they didn't attack us. One of them was just a usual Magitek puppet but… when it talked it sounded like Caligo." She remembered an old nightmare, wrists throbbing with phantom pain, and she looked down at her palms to ensure that her flexing fingers were indeed still there. "He wanted to study my light. Like Crowe always calls me sparklefingers? My fingertips glow when I call my light… Caligo wanted my hands to give them to Verstael." She listed quickly.

"Well that creepy dude is really far away." Noctis tried to assure her. She shook her head, hair tickling his arm.

"What If he was on those airships? You know how much Caligo and Verstael want me back in Nifleheim's custody and those airships came after us because of our phones. Like my brother warned." She was talking quickly, starting to stumble through her words, a tremor finding its way back into her voice. "They might be looking for me… for you. All of us."

"Your brother would have told you if Caligo or Verstael, or any of those really creepy assholes were personally looking for you." Noctis tried to assure her, but felt the same seed of doubt in his own chest, heart beginning to pound faster. But he tried to assure himself that they had put enough distance between themselves and the hunter hub prior to the apparition of the ships. The guilt struck again, and he bit down hard on his bottom lip.

"My brother may be high-ranking in the military of Niflehiem, but he is not automatically privy to any and all information about tactical movements. Especially if it concerns me. I doubt Caligo would admit to my brother if he planned to collect me for himself." She countered. Her hands knit together in her lap, goosebumps rolling down her arm.

"Caligo has his head so far up his own ass the only thing he can see is the backs of his teeth. He'll never find you." Noctis tried to assure her. He turned his head and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"If only I could banish him from my mind." She sighed, scratching at the back of her hand, curling her legs in to sit cross-legged, knees bouncing. "I suppose I have a suggestion to aide me in my quest." She turned her head to catch his eye, her frown turning into a nervous smile, biting down on her bottom lip.

"I should get up and lock the trailer door." He answered, managing to smile back at her. "I should also place a curse on the door so anyone who tries to interrupt us again gets blown up."

"Honestly, sometimes I swear others have a psychic detection for when we wish to be left alone!" she sighed, dropping herself back against the bed once Noctis drew his arm away from her to get up from the bed. She could still feel the echo of fear knocking at the back of her mind. The flashes of the nightmare that remained wanted to come to the forefront of her memory. _Focus on here._ She told herself. She listened to Noctis's footsteps crossing the trailer, the creak as he leaned to the door, the click of the lock. She took in a long breath of hot summer air, and letting it out slowly while Noctis walked back over to her. The bed creaked again as he climbed up. He laid down next to her, reaching a hand out to brush against hers.

Lunafreya turned, finally opening her eyes and giving Noctis a smile as she rolled up onto her side, one arm tucked beneath her head. She reached her arm out, palm resting against Noctis's jaw below his ear, fingertips tickling his skin and urging him to close the distance between them. Her eyes fluttered back closed, letting out a long sigh through her nose. Noctis hummed against her mouth, waiting a moment before his tongue pushed against her lips. She responded to his prodding, opening her mouth to allow him to taste their kiss, her own hum vibrating against his mouth.

"I'll take this as you're feeling better?" Noctis asked her.

"A bit sore… but yes, better." She shifted a bit in the bed as if to test her answer. Noctis groaned and sat up, feeling an electric burning pain shoot through his back and down his leg, extending it and rubbing roughly at his thigh.

"Yeah… I hear you on the sore thing." He answered her.

"Your old wound bothering you?" She asked, shifting herself up to sit across from him.

"Yeah. Guess having your ass kicked by an astral takes it out of you," he replied with a forced chuckle. He was kneading the muscle of his thigh with a grunt, his foot giving a twitch when another sharp jolt ran the length of the limb.

"Here…" Lunafreya offered, fingertips glowing with a dim light.

"No!" Noctis snapped, causing her to flinch. He reached out and held her wrists to halt her approach. Her brow came together and a frown pulled her lips, tugging against his hands until he released his grip.

"I'm okay." She insisted, but he shook his head.

"You need rest. You don't need to use your light on a sore leg. It's just always going to hurt once in a while." He insisted.

"Well… at least let me help," she offered instead, holding up her hands and making a _spin around_ gesture at him. "No light, I promise." She added when he hesitated. He spun himself around and scooted back with another command from her. She started at his shoulders, alternating between her thumbs and the heels of her hands as she worked rough circles. "How's this?" asked, feeling heat in her cheeks. His skin was lightly damp beneath her hands, punctuating the heat inside the trailer.

"Feels good." He murmured back, lolling his head forward. The way his shoulders slacked encouraged her, and she leaned forward to press a kiss into the crook of his neck while rubbing circles into the knots she could find. Noctis felt chills roll through him from her touch, from her kiss. He bit his lip to keep from moaning. Her breath was warm against his neck while she lowered her hands, another jolt shooting through his back when the heel of her hand rubbed the top of the scar on his back. He twitched at it, and her warmth and her touch retreated. "Sorry," she frowned and chewed her lip at the way she saw him flinch.

"No no… don't stop. That zing felt good." He countered quickly. "Seriously. That hurt in like… a good way?"

"You're odd." She chuckled. To his relief her hands went back to work, and his shoulders shrugged when her breath tickled him before her lips sent another wave of goosebumps through him. "But I must be too, for I am deeply in love with you." She whispered. He smiled, finding his heart throbbing.

"I love you too," he whispered back. He bent his left knee once her hands reached his lower back, the angle forcing her to draw back from where she had been leaving trails of kisses from beneath his ear, to the crook of his neck where her lips would linger, and her tongue would taste his skin. He whined at her withdrawal, but the clumsy patterns she was massaging into his scar was easing the tension in his old wound, the jolts shooting down his legs when she hit a specific spot was easing the burning pain it, replacing it with a dull ache that made him think of how it felt to get off his feet after a long day.

"Better?" she asked after a few minutes of quiet, save for the odd grunt or sigh from Noctis. He nodded, rolling his shoulders and sitting up straight, Lunafreya sitting back and folding her hands into her lap.

"Yeah. A lot actually." He answered, giving his leg a test rub but there was no burning, or the feeling of electric shocks. He used his palms against the bed to help him shift back around, sitting cross-legged across from her, smiling and relaxing that the position didn't render his foot numb. "You should let me return the favor," he suggested.

"Isn't this the point where you simply lie back, mumbling something about being sleepy and pass out on a disappointed Lady?" She asked with a smirk.

"I mean, I _could_ sleep." He dropped himself back, closing his eyes.

"Perhaps the Prince would best be left alone to slumber?" she quipped, the bed creaking as she moved to the edge of it. Noctis got back up and sat up on his knees, leaning forward to wrap his arms around her waist and tugged her back to him, her back pressed against his chest as he tilted his head to nip at her ear. She shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head, a giggle escaping her throat. He chuckled too and the sensation rumbled against the side of her neck, and now it was her turn to have goosebumps rolling down her arms. She whispered his name, Noctis replying by whispering hers back, pressing a gentler kiss to that spot just below her ear and tightening his grip around her waist.

His fingers bunched up the fabric of her shirt and his fingers felt warm against her skin. She could feel the sheen of sweat on his forehead as he nuzzled her, and brought a hand to her own forehead feeling suddenly too self-aware, flushing when she found her own skin damp with sweat and feared she might smell bad. But it seemed Noctis didn't share the same concern, undisturbed by the effects of their close contact with the heat. He reached across her front, pushing his fingers against her jaw to turn her head while he leaned to the side to capture her lips with his once again. The arm still around her waist tugged her yet harder, the other lacing through her hair. The shreds of her nightmare finished fading away as she felt entirely safe encompassed in his arms. She tried to shift her weight back against him even more, both her hands pressing over the one holding against her hip.

"So to prove I'm not a _complete_ slacker… I did promise to return the favor." He mumbled between kisses to the top of her shoulder. She nearly warned him not to leave mark from habit, his gentle kisses not like his usual nips or sucks. When he drew back from her she shifted to make herself more comfortable, and he his hands came to her shoulders. He mirrored the way she eased his tension, staring with her shoulders and slowly moving down her back. When his hands finally drew back she flopped back so her head was resting in his lap, eyes looking up into his and they exchanged smiles at each other.

"I could sleep for a week." She sighed, closing her eyes.

"I thought I was treating you to dinner? I even got you some goodies for dessert." He countered. He tossed the idea around in his head in staying in Hammerhead for a few days so she could get that week of sleep. He knew no one would argue about a prolonged rest, enjoying Takka's food. He wished he could cave to the irresponsible impulse. He played with Lunafreya's hair, wishing he could give her the time needed to rest and recover. She closed her eyes and sighed in response to the attention he was giving her. He gave her a few more moments of light touches before urging her to turn around.

"Bribing my sweet tooth to get me to get myself up from bed? Now that's simply not fair." She pouted, knitting her brow and pouting her lip. "I suppose I cannot argue with food. However, I had… _other_ intentions before we sacrifice our solitude." She smirked. They shifted in the bed so they were once again angled so Lunafreya's head rested against the pillows, Noctis lying over her. She started with the hem of his shirt, bringing it up over his head and casting it aside. She trailed her fingers down his chest, letting her thumb roll over his nipple before continuing to trace him, letting go only when her own shirt was bunched beneath her arms and she had to lift them for Noctis to cast aside her top. His fingertips brushed down her sides, eyes flickering over her body and capturing her gaze. His touch was feather-light, and she squirmed at how it made her tickle.

"I won't break you know," she teased, pressing both her hands against his and biting her bottom lip as she pressed them firmly against her breasts, "you can _touch_ me," she punctuated.

"I just… don't want to hurt you. After, you know… everything. You-"

"Needing rest and being made of glass are entirely different things." She interrupted. She sat herself up, releasing her grip on one of his hands to reach up behind his neck, helping to pull herself up as well as urge him down so their lips could meet. The kiss was clumsy and wet, tongues desperate to taste each other their breaths warm against the other's mouth, the other's cheek as they let out long nasal sighs. Both of Noctis's hands kneaded Lunafreya's breasts before reaching for the hem of her pants, earning a delighted hum from his Princess. They made love, slow and gentle. Noctis still hesitant to use a rushed or rough pace. But she still writhed beneath him, breathy sighs and whispered moans. He wanted to urge her to use her voice, to give sound to her moans.

When he drew back from her, both panting and sated as he rested back against the bed, Lunafreya pressed against his side with one arm looped around her shoulders and her arm spread across his chest as they came down from their high. They let the quiet hang between them, both pondering letting the call of sleep take them. But hunger grew stronger than fatigue.

"Why don't we just snack on the sweets you bought? Then we can go get some real food after a proper nap?" Lunafreya suggested.

"I think we both know once we go to sleep we're down for the count. Besides, pretty sure my dad would slap the back of my head and Ignis have a stroke if we had dessert before dinner." He answered, and she laughed before sitting up and reaching for her clothing while he did the same. They dressed and slid from the bed. Lunafreya moved to cross the small trailer, but Noctis caught her and drew her back against him, pressing his lips once more into the crook of her neck.

"Noct!" she half-chided, half-giggled, squirming as his arms tightened. "You'll made me lose my senses again."

"Maybe that's my intention?"

"We both know once food is on your mind nothing else matters." She rolled her eyes, and he laughed, pressing his damp forehead against her shoulder. "Do you think the others suspect anything?" She felt her cheeks heat up and her smile fade as her eyes fell upon the door.

"No," Noctis answered quickly. "Everyone's too busy to pay attention to the trailer." His answer only made her flush harder.

"So they're all working hard while we're in here indulging?"

"I wouldn't say that. Prompto is probably flirting with Cindy anyway. We might want to go rescue the poor girl by giving him something to do." He added with a chuckle. She smiled again, and gave a small nod.

"Well. Let's go eat."

* * *

An interlude chapter focused on character interaction? From ME? **shocked gasp**  
Okay for real though, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next one the gang gets back on the road!


	36. Back to the Meteor

I hope you enjoy this short chapter!

Ignis was still sitting at the table when Noctis and Lunafreya entered Takka's diner, the man had a map splayed over the table and two books on the seat beside him. Aranea had joined him at some point, sitting across the table leaning over at what he was working on, one hand reached out and fingers lightly brushing the one he had holding the map down. They looked up as the two entered, Aranea withdrawing her hand quickly and smiling, both shifting over so the royal pair could join them.

"Everyone else still all over the place?" The Prince asked after a quick glance around the diner. There was a man leaning over the counter across from the griddle, and a couple enjoying a meal at the booth closest to the door. But no sign of the rest of their retinue. "My father go back to… what _does_ he do with his time all day?" he wondered aloud.

"Your dad is even more of an enigma than you,"

" _The King_ " Ignis interrupted Aranea,

"So who knows what he's up to." she continued without pause. "Crowe is still off on the bike gone somewhere and I think the blond is trying to flirt with the mechanic chick. Can't blame him, that's one hell of an outfit she's got on. But what I wouldn't do to be a fly on that wall..." Aranea supplied with a half-chuckled huff of breath. "Big guy is _somewhere._ Surprised he's not here to make sure I don't burn the diner to the ground. Wonder where he wandered off to." She cocked her head, tapping her bottom lip.

"I admit I feel edgy that I cannot simply pull out my phone to text the others and ask their whereabouts." Ignis sighed, tapping a pen against the map. "How are you feeling My Lady?" he inquired, looking up to Lunafreya.

"Please, you can call me Luna." she corrected before replying to his answer with a smile, "I feel well," she suggested, and she didn't miss the brief frown that crossed Noctis's features.

"Sleep can do a body wonders." he answered, and his gaze went back down to the map.

"Glad to hear you're feeling better." Aranea agreed.

"I was trying to mark the locations, or suspected location, of all the royal tombs." Noctis looked down to where Ignis was gesturing. He let out a long breath seeing the number of marks on the map, and how spread apart they were.

"What about you?" Noctis asked, nodding at Aranea.

"Not burning the diner to the ground if that's your worry." She snapped, and he quickly held his hands up defensively.

"Just making conversation. Did you guys eat yet?" Both answered no he got to up fetch a set of menus and sat back down to hand them out. Ignis carefully folded up the map and tuck it inside of one of his books to keep it looking as neat as the day he purchased it.

"Nowhere near as tasty as what sexy glasses over here can cook but this diner's food ain't half bad." Aranea remarked, giving a quick once over of the menu before setting it down. "Can't really go wrong with a good old fashioned burger slattered in a heart-attack inducing amount of bacon" Noctis nodded, deciding on a burger as well. Lunafreya settled on an egg sandwich and fries for herself, Ignis deciding to forego health for once and get a bowl of chili with some fries to dip in it. They ate their meal while discussing their next set of plans, most of the conversation was the group listening as Ignis talked. Noctis's shoveled food in his mouth to keep the grimace off his features as he struggled with the worry they would arrive to find the Tomb of the Mystic was lost to them, and what the consequence would be.

The pressure in his chest mounted as conversation continued. The list felt too long. To overwhelming. He could feel the ache of Armiger pulsing through his limbs, and swallowed the ball of fear at how much the pain would grow as weapons were added to it. He gazed down at his right hand, picturing a heavy black ring on it. He blinked away images of his father's mangled hand, and let out a long sigh.

"Noct?" He flinched at Ignis trying to garner his attention.

"What about the Ring?" he asked. "You've talked about weapons and Astrals. But can we even finish this without the Ring?" he asked, tapping his finger against table where the map had once again been laid out.

"We do eventually need to try and enter Nifleheim, that will be our chance to reobtain the Ring and I think it prudent to wait until that eventuality before formulating a plan." Ignis rebutted. Noctis shrugged and nodded.

"So we leave in the morning for the meteor site huh?"

"Our best option."

"I can hear Gladiolus calling me an idiot now."

"Tell him to blame me for failing to inform you of the tomb's location." Ignis countered, drinking back the last sip of his third mug of coffee. Noctis chuckled, finishing his own and placing the empty mug at the end of the table.

"What should we do about our phones?" Noctis asked, almost reaching to pull his out before remembering he left it in the trailer.

"In case of an emergency I'd rather have them."

"We should bring my dad up to speed. Maybe he can give us some hints or let us know stuff we missed." Noctis suggested.

"I'm going to stay here and finish my coffee," Lunafreya answered, getting up to move to the opposite end of the table to allow Aranea to stand up.

"Same here. I get all… weirded out hanging out with royalty and all. You fancy-pants men go treat with the King. I'll keep the Oracle in one piece." she promised, placing one hand on Ignis's shoulder and placing a quick kiss on his cheek that flushed deep red. He cleared his throat,

"Well, do enjoy your coffee." He nodded his head at her. Noctis and Lunafreya exchanged a pair of nods and smiles before the two men left the diner. Lunafreya felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle, the ones on her arms standing on end. She wanted to suggest trading sides with Aranea so she could watch the door but her voice cut off her thoughts.

"So… the empire slays more innocent people at that hunter hub." she blurted without preamble. Lunafreya's brows lifted, tilting her head up to catch the other woman's gaze.

"Their goals blind them to their actions." Lunafreya answered in a flat tone, both hands clasping her coffee mug. The liquid inside had gone cool, and she wanted to ask for a replacement, if only to have something hot between her palms despite the heat permeating the diner. Her thumbs traced the rim and her knuckles flushed white as she gripped her mug tighter.

"Close call we had." Aranea sighed, leaning back against the diner seat and held her mug in the air, lifting her brow and tilting her head up when she caught Takka's attention. "They're pretty desperate to get their hands on Noct, huh?" she asked.

"I worry Caligo might be more concerned with recapturing his Oracle." A brief silence hung between them, Lunafreya's fingers curling and her shoulders tensing. She tried to shift in her seat to force herself to relax, but felt an ache shoot through her body from the rigidity in her limbs.

"The perfect holy woman on the TV and radio was just the version of you they wanted to parade around?" Aranea suggested, her tone dropping and words coming slower.

"I am far from perfect."

"The _smiling_ woman on the TV wasn't always real." she clarified. "Even being the Oracle didn't earn you a pat on the head from the master did it?"

"Was being their commodore enough to earn yourself their kindness and respect?"

"Fair enough."

"How did you end up in their military and climbing so high among their ranks?" she inquired.

"Was a mercenary. But the job got boring. I was too good at it," Aranea paused her story as Takka approached the table and refilled both of the womens' mugs with coffee. She thanked him and turned her attention back to Lunafreya. "Nifleheim needed someone to run a particular mission they wanted off the books, couldn't send their own military so they hired me. Eventually proved myself useful enough that I got the right to an airship," she sighed, lolling her head back and gazing up at the ceiling. "I miss my airship."

"I am sorry about that." Lunafreya frowned, brow coming together. "I fear that I may know what downed your airship. You had mentioned a freak storm?"

"Yeah?" Aranea quirked a brow.

"You know the task Noctis and I are trying to complete. We had formed the first of the covenants with Ramuh, who tested us with trial by fire. Or plasma, I suppose, as he tore open the sky above us. And your ship it seems was collateral dam/age."

"Is this the part where I should dive across the table and strangle you?" Aranea smirked, and quickly frowned. Though she hardly moved, Lunafreya's eyes widened, the soft blue enveloped by her widened black iris. "whoa, hey, bad joke bad joke." she held up her palms. "Pretty sure your shield would morph out of the wall and impale me on my own spine." Lunafreya chuckled, dropping her head and blinking away the burn in her eyes, and trying to breathe through the stricture in her chest.

"I couldn't help but notice, you and Ignis have grown closer." Lunafreya tried to grasp onto the image of Noctis smiling at her, his friend standing beside him blushing after a simple peck on the cheek.

"I got a soft spot for sexy men in glasses I guess."

"Hmm, that explains the curious nickname."

"Jokes aside… he made me feel welcome. Only one who didn't act like I was a spy ready to kill everyone in their sleep. Well, you as well. But you're not a Lucian so you know not everyone from the west is a psychopathic serial killer."

"I'm glad that he helped you feel welcome. You _are_ welcome. You've proven yourself our ally." Lunafreya tried to reassure.

"And maybe a friend too. you're pretty cool. You know how I feel about the sexy glasses. Big guy can pull the stick out of his ass then slap some sense into Crowe. Seriously, does being a royal shield come with a prerequisite of being an ass?"

"They aren't so bad once you get to know them." Lunafreya answered with a laugh. "I suppose they take their jobs seriously." She defended, shrugging.

"I still stand by my stick-theory. Well. Should we catch up to the two _nice_ men in the gang? If I drink much more coffee my heart will race then I'll barf it up. Messy affair."

"Would be a bit rude for us to leave a mess on the table, so I agree. I may also regurgitate my palpitating heart if I drink much more of this."

The Regalia rocked as Gladiolus slammed the trunk shut. The car rocked again when he dropped himself into the passenger seat.

"Hey! Come on! Do I need to drag you in the car?" He bellowed across the parking lot. Noctis rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to Lunafreya. She had her hair pulled back into a messy bun, and he reached out to brush some loose bangs away from her face. Her eyes were rimmed with dark crimson circles, and fatigue marked her placid features.

"You sure you don't want one more day to rest?" he offered, and she shook her head. Her night had been plagued with nightmares, her fitful sleep frequently waking Noctis who bore dark circles around his eyes as well. She glanced over at the Regalia before standing on her toes to give him a quick kiss, settling back on her heels with a light nasal exhale.

"I'll be alright." she reassured. She walked over to the car, Noctis behind her after a few moment's hesitation. They climbed into the backseat of the car with Aranea, Crowe and Prompto again taking the motorcycle. Noctis placed his hand on Lunafreya's knee, and she reached over to allow him to lace their fingers together. He smiled that she hadn't pulled away, and rested back against the seat as Ignis pulled them onto the road.

The wind felt refreshing with the mounting summer heat. The top down had the inside of the car swirling, and Lunafreya found herself fussing with the loose ends of hair that were blowing around her face. She had long given up on her hat and tucked it under her thigh to keep it from being ejected from the car, and found herself wanting for a headband instead.

"You'll look like a blow-dried cat by the end of the ride," Gladiolus chuckled, turning in his seat to glance at her.

"I feel like one," she admitted, slumping her shoulders and dropping her hands into her lap and decided to just accept her bangs blowing about her face.

"Like a fluffy tabby," Noctis joined the teasing, reaching and patting her on the head. She mocked a glare and he winked, both eventually giggling before Lunafreya resumed trying to fuss. Some time passed, music played through the radio, the day grew hotter. Ignis squinted as they came around a turn, looking further down the road.

"It appears they still have a roadblock up leading to the meteor." Ignis remarked. "Considering the damage that we caused during our last visit, do you believe they will allow us to pass through?"

"I'm still the Prince," Noctis answered with a wince. "We could just park the Regalia somewhere and walk around the blockade." he offered as an alternative. "Can stay under the radar better that way."

"No." Ignis answerd immediately. "Given what happened last time, I would prefer to have the Regalia." Noctis sighed, sure that his advisor was right, especially after the rest of the car voiced their agreement.

"Good evening sirs," Ignis greeted the guards who approached the driver and passenger side of the car when they pulled up to the roadblock. There was no one ahead of or trailing them, the other four guards continued what appeared to be a card game in the absence of their comrades.

"Evening." the guard answered back. "Road's closed. The meteor collapsed, the local geography might not be stable and all the dust kicked up might be dangerous." he continued, pointing down the road. Noctis grimaced, noticing Lunafreya stifen beside him as he wondered if the guards knew just _how_ dangerous the dust was.

"We've been through before, we merely wish to inspect the area." Ignis offered first, and Noctis tried to straighten his posture,

"How many of you are there?" he asked, mumbling for half a moment, "five in the car and is that motorcycle with you?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. I suppose safety in numbers." the guard glanced in the back seat before turnign his attention back to Ignis. "Just be careful. We aren't responsible for any injuries incurred down near the meteor site and cell services has been poor so you won't be able to phone emergency services if anything happens." he explained.

"We will remain prudent." He nodded. The guard stepped away from the car, nodding at the second man before backing away and allowing Ignis to shift the Regalia back into gear, and started down the road chased by the roar of the motorcycle's engine.

"That was… easy. Glad we didn't have to get out of the car, you know how hard it is to wrangle up a cat back into a car" Ignis remarked, smirking up at the rearview mirror. Lunafreya let out an amused huff of air, shaking her head slightly. The brush flanking the road was green shortly past the barrier, but as they progressed grass gave way to dried and yellowed shrubs. The familiar bushes bore blackened fruits and leaves, underground root patterns traced black lines in the dirt. When Ignis flicked the small switch to cover the Regalia's hood once more no one voiced disagreement as the once pleasant wind was replaced with the quiet hum of the car's air conditioner.

"Did… we make things worse by awakening Titan?" Noctis asked.

"You recall what we saw before… I think the land was being poisoned to begin with." Ignis answered him.

"Yeah… the rocks were all black," Gladiolus drummed his fingers on the door handle.

"Well let's go kick some butt!" Aranea cheered. "I mean, if we find something's butt to kick. I imagine we'll find lots of black dead things at the meteor." She added with a crooked smile. "Okay that… sounded wrong."

"Probably right though, I mean _look_ at this place." Gladiolus answered.

"It is pretty depressing. Makes northern Nifleheim look like sunshine and rainbows." she answered, resting her arm against the door to prop up her cheek. "I swear I feel itchy just being here."

"I too." Lunafreya answered. "I've only been to northern Nifleheim once and it was not the most hospitable of locations." Aranea let out a huff at her answer,

"Surprised they let your leash long enough to go that far."

"I believe it was a political ploy. I was never made privy to that type of information unless they deemed it necessary for when I was put before the cameras. But it was quite cold. There was a terrible outbreak of Blight in the village. The soldiers who escourted me all wore sealed uniforms and gas masks. It was as the costumes of old war movies." she explained.

"You watch old war movies?" Gladiolus interrupted from the front seat, turning around with an arm resting against Ignis's seat.

"Gladio…"

"Just don't crash and I won't die." he quipped back at the disgruntled driver. "So you like old hisory movies?" he directed at Lunafreya again.

"Well... there wasn't much selection at the manor." she offered, kneading ther fingers into the back of her hands. "But the few movies available I did enjoy. There was this one about Tenebraean settlers exploring further west on the continent. I remember watching it with my mother as a child. Though Nifleheim _updated_ ," she paused to raise her fingers in air quotes, "the few movies that I had. The version instead removed references to the explorers being Tenebraean... intead, they were the original Nifleheimers. But It's still a good movie."

"Wait wait.. you mean _Ice Men_?"

"Oh! You've seen it?" Lunafreya smiled, sittin gup straighter. "Most people haven't seen it"

"Yeah! I love history movies. The Nifs dared to mess that movie up?!"

"Oh goodness yes..." she sighed, lolling her head back and rolling her eyes. "Mostly they just changed some names, edited the flag... but they left everything else intact. Which led to odd moments…" she trailed off, tapping her chin as pieces of the movie flashed through her memory.

"Like when Marco's fiancée gives him a syleblossum at the start and it's what he's holding when he dies to remember his home?" Gladiolus suggested.

"Oh that scene always made my heart ache." Lunafreya gave him a sad smile.

"But trying to change Marco from a Tenebraean to a Nifleheimer changes the whole meaning of the scene!" Gladiolus insisted, throwing his arm up and banging his hand on the roof of the car. Ignis gave him a deep frown, punctuated by a jutting lip, the bigger man apologizing and spinning to sit in his seat properly. "If we're ever able to turn our phones on again we should hang out and watch it!" Lunafreya paused for a moment, blinking as the invitation hit.

"That would be fun," she finally answered with a smile.

"Movies are always more fun to watch with others. Right Iggy?" He lightly tapped his friend with his elbow.

"I have learned my lesson about letting you pick the movie, but I would also enjoy a night to watch _Ice Men_." he agreed.

"Yeah I'll never say no to a good movie. Only ever seen the Nif version, would be cool to see the original." Aranea concurred. Noctis reached out and squeezed Lunafreya's hand, planting a kiss on her cheek,

"You already know my answer." he smiled at her, and her pink cheeks drew back and her eyes crinkled in a smile.

"A lovely evening." she concurred.

Closer to the meteor the ground was bare of grass, old root patterns traced with curling lines of black. Dry and dark curled branches devoid of leaves the only remnants of what once was shrubs and short trees. The area was devoid of the sound of summer cicadas or birds, no rustling of small rodents dashing between the brush. The group hovered outside the car, glancing up at the painted rock formation that was once around the meteor.

"Uhh… guys? Sure we should be here?" Prompto asked, getting off of the motorcycle with Crowe and approaching the car. When everyone turned their attention to him he gestured at a bush, and the fallen corpse of a striped coeurl next to one of the desiccated shrubs. Still in its mouth was a dead rodent, shriveled beyond the point of identification.

"Good thing we have an Oracle in our back pocket." Crowe approached, slapping Lunafreya roughly on the shoulder momentarily pulling her off-balance.

"You purchased drinks to turn to curatives?" Lunafreya asked. The Regalia's windshield shattered into a pattern of spiderwebs a moment before a loud crack echoed over the empty landscape.

"Get down!" Gladiolus bellowed, grabbing Noctis and pulling him to the ground, Crowe diving at Lunafreya and both women landed on the ground with a grunt. Aranea was cursing, pressing herself against the Regalia's fender. Prompto hit the ground a moment later with a painful shriek, curling in on himself as an overwhelming white-hot pain burned through his leg. He curled in on himself, Ignis crawling over to him as a second crack echoed.

"Wh-what… wh… what?" Prompto panted, digging his fingerips into his upper thigh. Pain roared through the limb, vision tunneling and he grew deaf to the words his friend was speaking safe for the awareness of voices.

"Prompto!" NOctis called, but Gladiolus was busy dragging him to what little protection hiding behind the car provided. Dirt and dust kicked up in small holes in the ground, the air roaring with overlapping echoes. Crowe and Lunafreya scrambled, Crowe pressed up beside Gladiolus and wrapped her arms around Lunafreya. The blonde woman turned, catching the eye of the Prince who was being held by his shield in an equally protective manner.

"Let me go!" Noctis growled, writhing in Gladiolus's grip. "Prompto?"

"Stay down!" His shield commanded in answer.

"Let me help him." Lunafreya urged her Shield, the woman biting down on her lip as she looked at the downed member of their party. All eyes turned to man, curled in on himself blood pouring through his fingers as he clutched at his leg, the advisor pleading with him to let him see the wound, his own shirt removed and struggling to wrap it around the wounded leg.

"What the shit is happening?!" Crowe goaned, releasing her grip on Lunafreya who dragged herself over to Prompto as dirt kicked up around them, ears throbbing with the loud cracking that followed each new pit.

"Prompto?" Lunafreya spoke, voice drowned out by the chaos around them. She felt a hand clamp down around her wrist, breifly making eye contact with Noctis, his face carved with lines and eyes glistened with tears. She gave him a curt nod, attention shifted back to Prompto as she reached out to place her hands on either side of his face. She leaned down, her heart racing as a pit formed in the ground a half-meter away from them and sweat forming on her brow. She pressed her hands against his head tighter to steady the tremor overtaking her limbs. She whispered her prayer through the bile in her throat and the hard lump making taking in air difficult. Her fingertips began to glow, and she could hear everyone around her pleading with her to save Prompto, Crowe encouraging her with her nickname, Noctis's voice breaking as he urged her to save his friend, Ignis simply bowing his head with eyes squinted tight. The glow spread to Prompto's leg, and after a few moments the white-knuckled grip on his leg loosened and his rapid panting turned into gasping deep breaths.

"Oh gods…" he groaned, limbs beginning to lax. "Could get addicted to that…" he mumbled, eyes fluttering a bit. "Thanks…"

"Are you all right?" Lunafreya asked, looking down at the wounded leg. She couldn't assess the injury obscured by his blood stained pants, and he pushed away the sets of hands reaching for him. "After dudes! I still feel like I have some kind of lava-hot ball in my leg but my whole body doesn't feel on fire anymore." he explained with a strain in his voice. A blue glimmer of light and a pair of pistols appeared in his hands, "not sure if these got the range we need… but we gotta return fire!" he insisted, shoving the guns at Ignis.

"I doubt the man who requires glasses is the best shot." he grimaced.

"Give 'em here," Aranea asked. She nodded, gripping them in her hands and turned about. She didn't like how little cover they had, but she tried to press herself harder against the car and glance up over the Regalia to see if she could observe where the shots were coming from. Prompto was still groaning as he tried to make himself as small as possible again to protect himself from the bullets making pits in the ground.

"Here," Noctis shifted, appearing a drink into his hand. Blue magic fluttered into his hand and set the can aglow, awkwardly tipping over to his friends against the tight grip his Shield was maintaining. Aranea had spun around, sitting back against her heels between Crowe and Gladiolus. She held a pistol in each hand and had her eyes scanning the rock formations around them for any sign of their assailant. She couldn't find an airship, or other signs of someone sitting in wait, grumbling through grit teeth. She looked for the tiniest flicker of moment, the slightest shift in the red and black mountain of rock.

"With these things has a scope, or at least a proper sight." She complained, voice trailing off as she narrowed her eyes and focused on one spot in the rock. Another pop and the Regalia's windshield shattered completely, Araena ducking with a light shriek and a curse, feeling a few pieces of glass in her hair.

"Are you hurt?" Ignis asked quickly, helping Prompto get closer to the minimal protection of the car. Aranea shook her head, trying again to peer up at the rock.

"Can't see anything." she explained, "whoever this sharpshooter is he's good. I'll never get a shot from this far with pistols. "You always have a plan up your sleeve sexy glasses… what do we do?" she asked. Ignis hesitated, his friends all looking as him. He looked at Prompto who was still clutchign his thigh his foot having periodic spasms. Blood stained his pants, his hands, the dust beneath his leg. They were all huddled together, and the air around them continued to ripple with the loud cracks that followed the bullets impacting the ground, now more spaced out than before. _I don't have a plan. I don't have a plan._


	37. Surrender

Holy hell guys... I am sorry for this delay. I can't begin to describe how difficult how work has gotten. I'm scheduled for an 8 hour shift, and they've been lasting 9-12 on average. Then I went on a much needed vacation. But I am back, on the hunt for a new job, and I have a short chapter to hopefully make up for my delay. I want to start the next one as soon as I can, but this is my "long" week and with these long shifts my life has been an endless cycle of work/sleep with no real recreation. Came back from vacation to the same conditions. I'll try as hard as I can to get something up soon.

Guest: Thank you for so much support ^.^ Your reviews always make me happy. I hope this update is good despite the brevity

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Crowe tightened her grip on her charge while their voices grew louder trying to clamor for a plan. Lunafreya squinted her eyes, trying to subdue the rising panic. Her heart was racing, leaving a rushing throb in her ears and an ache in her chest. Her fingertips were growing numb as her light flashed in and out of her hands. The periodic thuds of the bullet hitting the dirt echoed by the loud crack that would echo throughout the landscape. The air smelled like copper, and she licked her lips and ran a hand under her nose to assure herself there was no blood. She tried to focus on the arms of her friend and pry her eyes open.

She looked around, at the divets in the ground surrounding the car. They were far heavier on the far side of the car and the area behind. With her brows knitting together she looked past her foot, and to her right. There were no such pits. She let out a slow breath, observing the ground and listening for the cracks. More pits appeared to her left. She rolled her shoulders to try and ease the grip around her.

"Crowe, please let go." she stated, trying to turn her head to look up to her Shield.

"We don't have enough cover!"

"I don't think they're aiming for me. Look," she gestured at their feet.

"There's bullet holes everywhere!" Crowe's voice rose further, and gripped the Oracle harder.

"Not around us! Look around!" Lunafreya's voice rose herself as she tried to writhe out of the other woman's grip. "Let me go, I know what they want."

"Yeah! Your brains decorating the landscape! Kinda boring as is all beige and black they wanna add a little red to it to make Nif colors!" Crowe snapped back, wincing when another pop and crack filled the air. Dust kicked up as the pock on the ground close enough to Gladiolus's arm the man jerked inward in a too-late fearful reaction of being grazed. He cursed, Prompto gasping and whining at the jostle as the group tried to huddle even closer. Lunafreya pursed her lips together and let out a hard breath of air through her nose.

"They won't shoot me." She tried to insist, but Crowe tightened her grip for a moment with another pit and crack. Lunafreya again scanned the ground and the patterns torn up into the dirt. She let out a slow sigh, squinting her eyes. "I'm sorry." She twisted and rolled her shoulder to free her arm of Crowe's grip, bending it and with a jerk slammed her elbow into the side of her Shield's throat.

The woman gagged and coughed, both her arms dropping enough for Lunafreya to pull herself out of her grip, rolling to her right and getting to her feet as a chorus of voices started screaming her name. Noctis's voice was shrill, louder than the others. She could hear the crack in his words, his desperate screams. She blew out another breath and fought against the pounding in her chest. She looked up at the meteor, taking several steps until she was next to the Regalia's headlight. The air fell quiet, and she stood tall scanning the rocks for any movement. Everyone continued to call to her, and she could hear the strain in Gladiolus's voice as he alternated between trying to call her back to their illusion of safety, and trying to snap at Noctis to not join her in her idiocy.

"Listen." she told them. Noctis still grunted against his Shield but the clamor of voices stopped.

"The gunfire stopped." Ignis observed. "I would still not advise getting up from our cover." he added quickly, gaze locked on Noctis.

"Luna you should get back here." the Prince pleaded.

"They don't wish me dead."

"They might still hurt you!" He jerked his hand, pointing to her lower chest.

"Look!" she pointed, squinting at the rocks. The others unsuccessfully tried to tilt their heads to look without exposing themselves, ducking back down and asked Lunafreya for clarification. "An airship."

"Shouldn't we…" Crowe started, the words came out a high-pitched wheeze, the Shield coughing to clear her voice as she rubbed at her throat. "Shouldn't we get in the car and fuck off then?" she started again in a gravelly voice choked by the odd wheeze between words. She coughed roughly again, wincing and rubbing at her throat more. Lunafreya frowned, opening her mouth but hesitating before speaking.

"I'm sorry I-" Crowe cut her off with a palm, and shook her head. Lunafreya sighed, shifting her attention back to the meteor site. "They'll follow us." she waited for more airships, her brows knitting together as she shifted her weight, eyes trained on where the airship was lifting off from. There was no second ship following the first, and the lasting silence drew Aranea out of cover first. She walked up to Lunafreya, looking up to the ship as well.

"That's no puppet ship. Look at the stripes in the back," Aranea pointed.

"Someone important." Lunafreya answered when she made out the details. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, goosebumps rippling down her arms as she took a step backwards. Her palm rested over her side, a phantom reminder of the sharp pain throbbed in her memory.

"Guess we'll find out who." Noctis answered. Lunafreya flinched and gasped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, fingertips digging into her skin and she turned to face a wide-eyed Noctis, his limbs rigid, wide eyes trained on the sky.

"Noct." Ignis's stern tone startled him, and he blinked several times to look at his friend's impassive face. The man was still standing at the back of the car with Prompto. Noctis let out a long breath, tension slacking.

"Sorry Luna… you just scared me there." he admitted, dropping his hand off her shoulder, watching the momentary white fingerprints in her skin fade. "They could have shot you…" his gaze flickered between her and the airship coming towards them.

"Whoever was shooting was specifically aiming away from me." She insisted. "And fairly certain had they wanted to kill you they would have." she looked at the pits in the ground all around them.

"But they shot me!" Prompto whined, helped to his feet by Gladiolus once the man saw Ignis try to help him up while Prompto braced himself against the Regalia, wounded leg picked up to keep the pressure off of it. The Shield nudged Ignist aside and jerked Prompto's arm around his neck and wrapped an arm around his back.

"I can try to offer you more light," Lunafreya offered, turning her attention to him. "You were shot by a Nifleheim sniper… yet you're alive..." her voice lifted at the end as she looked at the blood stain on his leg. He followed her look and quickly shut his eyes and shook his head,

"Don't look at it don't look at it…" he chanted to himself in a rapid tone. "instead look at the terrifying looming death flying towards us."

"On the sniper note... the hell kind of bullets they used that you were shot in the leg and still have one?" Aranea asked, walking up beside Lunafreya and cocking her head to the side to look at Prompto's leg. "I've seen what a Nifleheim sniper can do, usually involves a cloud of pink, and a whole lot of sad people."

"Thanks for that imagery!" Prompto groaned, squinting and trying instead to focus on Lunafreya as she placed her hands on his cheeks, and on the warmth flowing into him easing the worst of the pain in his leg. He bit his lip as he could feel the tremor in her hands against his face, and how her smile as she pulled back didn't touch her eyes.

"You'll still be hurting for quite some time, but this is the best I can do. " she wanted to try to assure him she may have removed the risk of a permanent limp, but didn't wish to raise his hopes were she wrong. "A potion may perk you up a bit more, at least for a couple hours until a bed is found for you to rest." The distinctive hum of an airship engine started to make itself distinct over the ambient wind, Lunafreya biting down on the corner of her tongue as she looked once again up at the sky.

"Umm yeah, thanks Lady L," he smiled at her, and put his leg down and gave it a pressure test. "I think I can stand up." he removed his arm from Gladiolus's shoulder and settled back on both heels, shifting his weight to mostly rest on his good leg. "Noct buddy?"

"Yeah I think I got one, just a sec…" Noct mumbled, eyes still trained on the sky, deep lines forming between his brow as he absently reached to his pocket, a blink of blue and a can appeared in his hand. Magic warmed his hand and poured into the drink. He shifted his attention to Prompto,grimacing at the stain on his pants as he held it out to him.

"Here man… let me know if you need another one." he answered, and wondered if he should have made something a little more potent. But his friend had grabbed the drink and snapped the tab, downing what must have been half the drink in one go, pressing his fist to his mouth to unsuccessfully mute a belch from chugging the carbonated drink so fast.

"Careful man I might just want the energy drink so I can feel like I'm on speed." Prompto tried to joke, spinning the can in his hand, "let's see… two hundred milligrams of caffeine? That's like, twice Ignis's precious Ebony!" he cheered, and brought the can back to his lips. His smile dropped when Ignis failed to jump to the immediate defense of his beloved coffee.

"It's almost here." the advisor observed.

"They'll land any second. That ship is fast." Aranea agreed with a grimace, her hand tapping at where her polearm was collapsed and stored on her hip, stepping slowly so she was just in front of the car. Lunafreya joined her, Crowe finally moving from where she was sitting against the Regalia, fingers brushing against her neck. The two women exchanged a glance before shifting their attention to the airship that was now descending. Everyone lifted their arms to cover their eyes as the descending airship kicked up dust and sand. Noctis squinted one eye, the other half-open to see where he was going so he could stand by Lunafreya, Gladiolus just behind him while Ignis stayed with Prompto who was still standing at the back of the car, still unsure about testing his leg's ability to bear his weight for more than a few seconds.

The loud humming quieted, the dust and sand started to settle when the airship touched down. Noctis and Crowe stepped forward, Crowe's arm reaching out to keep Lunafreya from stepping forward as well. Noctis fidgeted, feeling the ache in his leg, the magic to access his Engine Blade just beyond his reach as his fingertips prickled. Lunafreya reached out, pressing her hand into Notis's shoulder, tugging to encourage him to turn.

"Noctis." She urged, mustering her voice into little more than a whisper.

"Don't worry Luna, we won't let anything happen to you." he assured, nodding and turning back to the airship. A hydraulic hiss preceded the door opening. Dust kicked up as the door impacted the ground, and the distinct clang of puppet footsteps started descending down the ramp. There was an odd rigidity to the soldiers, their uniforms failng to move as fabric shoulder. Their faces were obscured with expressionless masks, heads periodically twitching.

"I thought you said this wasn't a puppet ship?" Prompto asked.

"Behind them." Lunafreay answered, her voice in a hoarse whisper. Noctis reached behind him to grasp her hand, feeling the tremor in her arm.

"I won't let them hurt you Luna." He declared, trying to stand straighter, squaring his shoulders.

"Noct…" He could hear the quiver in her voice as their focus shifted behind the MagiTek soldiers. A thin man stood level with his metallic guardians, his grey hair brushed brushed back, a receded hairline giving his forehead a prolonged appearance, sideburns blending into the wispy beard that lined his narrow jaw. His high-collared uniform announced his high station within Nifleheim, his gaze lifting up as they approached the Lucian retinue hardly a meter away from where Noctis, Crowe, and Gladiolus stepped forward.

"Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret."

"Verstael." Lunafreya shifted her stance, wincing slightly at his use of her full name, her right foot sliding back as she stood at an angle.

"Hmm… a few weeks from the Empire and you lose your manners?"

"Sir Besithia."

"Doctor." he insisted with a twitch to the corner of his mouth. "You've caused me significant delays Lady Lunafreya, it is time you return to your place." he stepped forward, but halted when he saw Noctis and Crowe close the small gap between them, effectively blocking his view of his goal. "Do not be foolish. Stand down." He drolled, eyes flickering around. The Magitek soldiers around him raised their guns and locked their joints.

"I find it best we heed his warning." Lunafreya stated to the others, walking around Crowe so she could turn to face the others. Noctis's expression curled, brows knit tightly together as he locked eyes with her.

"Luna! We can't just let you go with him!" he insisted, pushing his shoulder into Gladiolus when the Shield attempted to stop his approach. But Lunafreya held up a palm, placing it on Noctis's chest to halt his approach. She glanced away from him into the guns pointed around her, and back to her friends who were holding swords, save a pair of pistols in Prompto's left hand, the right hand helping to brace him against the Regalia. She blinked away the images of how quickly the Magitek would raze them down, and let out a long breath through her nose, old memories surfacing setting her heart racing and it took great effort to keep her breathing level.

"You must let me make this decision Nocits," she started, forcing the words past the wall of fear pleading with her to let the others rescue her. "You know what happens when you oppose them." her voice cracked to little more than a whisper, and she bit down on her tongue to try and keep her expression neutral as a knot formed in her throat; her stomach churned at his expression scrunched, his frown deepening and he squinted hard, bangs swaying as he shook his head. Echoes of old pain throbbed throughout her body, pulsing as she remembered each kick, each punch, each slap, a hand guarding over her ribs.

"No… you… I can't…" he started stammering, reaching out and gripping her shoulders.

"You have stalled for enough time, shall I order my Magitek to fire?"

"No." Her voice cracked as she looked over her shoulder. "They won't fight. That won't be necessary." she insisted.

"The hell we won't!" Crowe snapped, reaching to place her hand on Lunafreya's shoulder. A Magitek standing next to Verstael lifted its arms, the butt of its rifle striking her jaw, a pained cry cut off with a deep huff of air as she hit the ground. It pointed the barrel away from her head, pulling the trigger. Lunafreya flinched and slapped her hands over her ears with the loud crack it produced, looking with wide eyes to Crowe, letting out her held breath, chest rising and falling rapidly as she began to hyperventilate. Her shield had a palm pressed to her jaw, staring up at the Nifleheimers, half her face glowing red and traces of blood visible through the gap between her fingers. The woman opened her mouth and closed it, shifting her weight as she tried to sit up, staying on the ground while the rifle was still pointed down at her.

"I advise staying put. And _enough_." Verstael added, turning his head, grey eyes boring into the machine beside him. "Point made." It settled back into formation, gun held with the military rigidity of its cohorts. Lunafreya had to focus to discern his words over the ringing in her ears that she tried to rub away, the echo of the gunshot still felt like it was vibrating through her entire body. Spent gunpowder invaded her nose, and she let out a hard huff of air, sure that she could taste the black dust in the back of her throat. "Now. Lady Lunafreya, do join me. You've set me quite behind in my work and I wish to catch up on my mounting backlog." Verstael turned his attention back to her, expresion flat as his eyes flickered between her and her restless companions.

"Luna… we can. I... We can figure something out." Noctis whispered, though Lunafreya had to conjecture much of what he said, the rest lost within the ringing.

"You remember what happened when we were young and you tried to protect me from them?" she asked, turning to capture Noctis's eye, and to better read his lips. "Our hands are tied. Trust me, my Prince." her voice cracked, the trembling in her limbs intensifying.

"No!" His own voice quivered. She stood on her toes, tilting her head to press her lips to his. He could feel the tears on her cheeks, her breath hitching with a sob that broke their kiss apart. "Look I'll… I'll see you soon, okay?" he mumbled. "I can't just let them take you away." Lunafreya gasped when she felt fingers dig into her shoulder and jerk her backwards. She looked over her shoulder to the Magitek shoulder that was pulling her away from her friends.

"I love you." She forced a smile and turned before she let her expression drop. She bit deeply down into her lips, squinting hard to try and keep further tears from rolling down her cheek. She inhaled carefully to keep her breath from stuttering, and tried to focus on the promises of rescue coming from behind her.

Noctis was flexing his fists beside him, knuckles flushed white as he gripped his Engine Blade harder. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his heart throbbed in his ears. Muscles in his jaw stood out, flexing as he ground his teeth hard enough to cause his cheeks to ache. Bile burned his throat and his chest felt tight and painful. His fingertips grew numb, and he flinched with a near-instinctual urge to swing his sword when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced quickly up to Gladiolus, his rage reflected in his Shield.

"We'll get her back." he assured as the Oracle stepped onto the ramp with a procession of metallic footsteps. Noctis remained silent, eyes burning and the pain in his throat finally escaping into a sob. The engines wound up, dust whipped up into a blinding wind. He closed his eyes, dropping his sword and the tremor reached his legs. He fell to the ground, leaning forward into his fists, slamming his right hand into the dirt.

" _Godsdamnit!"_ His voice failed to carry over the wind and the engine. _Remember._ Memories started to flicker to his mind and he tried to force them back. _Not this time._ He promised himself. Her eyes had been so dilated, voice so unsteady as she tried to talk him into submission. "Fuck what happened before." he cursed, his voice caught and he tried to clear his throat. He lifted his leg and pushed a hand into his knee to help himself stand back up, a sharp pain shooting through the limb sending him momentarily off balance. Gladiolus was still behind him and helped to right him, but Noctis shoved him away and ran both his hands through his hair.

"Noctis, we will formulate a plan and-" Ignis began, startling the Prince's attention behind him.

"Fuck plans! For all our scheming and plotting and trying to think we know what we're doing, look where it got us!" Noctis shouted over Ignis's steadfast tone. "She's gone! Right back in their hands! It's like all the shit we went through in Altissia meant nothing!" His voice broke and a sob punctuated his words. His eyes burned and he failed to restrain tears that stung his wind-burned cheeks. "I failed her! _Again!_ I just let her walk onto that fucking ship!"

" _Think_ Noct! How could we have opposed a whole squadron of puppets armed with guns?" Gladiolus tried to yell sense into Noctis if Ignis's cold logic could not. The Prince's form shook and Gladiolus wrapped his arms around him. "You didn't fail her. We were outgunned. At least we're all still here to go rescue her. If we fought we would have all been killed. At least now we're all still here to go get her. We couldn't have planned for something like this."

"Then we should have planned better! Maybe laid low after we saw those airships at the hunters until we had a better idea than running into a trap?" he snapped back. He rolled his shoulder, bringing his fist in an attempt to punch Gladiolus, but moved his arm in an awkward arc as his Shield tried to embrace him. The punch lost its strength before he finished drawing his arm back and instead pat his chest with a closed fist, and wept, pressing his forehead against him and curling both hands tighter. "I lost her again…"

"We'll rescue her, like all white-knight and kick some teeth in. Be extra romantic and all as you scoop her up and flip off all the Nifs." Prompto cut in. Noctis knit his brows, shifting his attention. Prompto was leaning against the car, a forced smile on his face. "She's like, totally a thousand times stronger than anything that ever walked on Eos. She put up with Nifs for twelve years, I'd lose my mind after twelve hours!"

"You've put up with _me_ for a while. Hmm… maybe that _does_ explain a lot." Aranea quipped. Noctis flinched at her voice, almost surprised she was still with the group. She was on the ground kneeling next to Crowe and he couldn't remember seeing any movement. Noctis ground his teeth again, veins in his neck standing out.

"Where would they take her?" He asked, redirecting his attention to the dragoon.

"You think they clued me in to all their plans? Especially Doctor Creepy?" She asked, her lifted brow dropping and a frown overtook her face. "I should have thought of this. But I didn't expect Verstael to predict our movements."

"What are the chances?" Gladiolus agreed.

"Our phones?" Prompto wondered, pulling his from his pocket to check that the device was turned off. "I have like, so many cool photos on here…" he whined. "So I better pull out the SD first. That's not the thing making it trackable is it?" he asked before he started looking for a place to pull his phone apart to find its memory card.

"They shouldn't be able to track the things if they're off!" Gladiolus insisted, crossing the short distance between himself and Aranea. "Cooincidence that Verstael, of all fucking Nifs, was waiting for us _here?!_ How did they know we were backtracking?" he asked. Ignis quickly caught up to the Shield and put himself between the man and the dragoon.

"Gladiolus calm down. Likely, had the Empire been informed of our intent we would not have arrived here for a show of strength and the abduction of the Oracle." Ignis tried to offer to placate him.

"Then what the hell was this about?"

"Random speculation will not draw us to an answer. What is important now is that we focus on what we can do to rescue Lunafreya."

"Yeah. She's just with one airship, not in a manor in an occupied country." Noctis added, bouncing on his leg, shifting his weight and bouncing on the right one when the movement was making his left leg feel like he was being continuously shocked. "Like assholes they flew off behind the meteor… so figuring out where he took her won't be easy." He added.

"If he flew behind the meteor that means he flew west." Ignis explained.

"How are all you talking at a normal volume? Pretty sure one of my ears is deaf…" Crowe finally added to the conversation, sticking her pinky into her ear.

"You okay?"

"Okay let's be real you don't care about if I'm okay, you just want us to get in the car to go rescue Luna." She quipped back, grunting as she got back to her feet. "Lucky for you, first, yes I'm okay. Second, I agree with blowing up everything we see until we get her back. But we might wanna listen to the smart one in the group for a plan that might actually make that happen."

"I can't let her suffer with them! You don't understand what they do to her!"

"I do!" Aranea snapped, then quickly shut her mouth. "Just because they were my paycheck doesn't mean I got blankets and cocoa. And I'm no idiot, I could see behind their propaganda."

"We need to go back to Hammerhead. Come up with a plan to get her." His eyes were scanning either side of the meteor site, looking for any sign of the airship changing direction.

"We need to stay here and find the royal arm we came here to find. I know you're in a rush. We all are. But the more arms you have the better chance we have at opposing the Nifs." Ignis suggested.

"I'll shove every weapon down that bastard's throat." Noctis ground out, and pushed past his friends towards the path leading into the meteor site.


	38. Cold, Part 1

This chapter is short, but felt better compartmentalized like this than including it in a longer chapter

* * *

Noctis stopped only a few strides away from everyone, pausing as a tremor crept back into his limbs. The pain in his leg turned into a static numbness starting from the sharp throbs in his lower back. His Engine Blade vanished in a flash of blue sparks, and he turned on the ball of his feet, nearly causing himself to stumble as he looked back at everyone. Crowe was brushing dust off the seat of her pants while a few steps away Ignis was helping to support Prompto who still had an arm resting against the Regalia. Aranea was leaning into the trunk of the car rummaging through stuff. Gladiolus was walking up to the Prince, and brought a firm hand down onto his shoulder,

"Noct, I want to rip every Nif in half with my own hands as bad as you do. But we need to make sure Prompto and Crowe are okay. And before you give me that look you love-sick puppy we need all the strong bodies we can get which means letting the injured ones patch up a bit." He explained, digging his fingertips into the leather of his jacket. Noctis bit down on his lip, feeling the stinging returning to his eyes. His cheeks ached, and his throat hurt nearly as bad as his back as he swallowed. He nodded, letting out a long stuttered breath. _I can't protect anyone. How can I protect all of Lucis?_ Familiar doubts started coming to mind, cut off when he felt a punch to his chest that would have thrown him off balance had the same arm not wrapped behind his shoulders and pulled him close. "We'll kick their asses. Promise."

"You never break a promise about kicking someone's ass. Especially if it's my own." Nocits managed a laugh through the sobs that finally broke the ache in his throat. He gripped his friend's jacket, knuckles flushing white as he pressed his forehead against Gladiolus's collarbone. He stayed for an extra moment before drawing back to walk over to Prompto who was thumbing the rim of an energy drink in his hand.

"How's the leg?" he asked.

"Ignis tried to get a good look through the hole in my pants. Said the bullet got me at a shallow angle so its a really bad graze. Otherwise I woudn't have a leg. Guess I'll never be a pirate!" he laughed.

"Can buy you an eye patch and you can say yarr all day if it makes you feel better." Gladiolus teased him.

"Steal a Nif ship so I can be a _real_ pirate!"

"Good way to get us back across the ocean to Altissia eventually." Ignis nodded, rubbing at his chin.

"So plan: Step one, we give the blond an eye patch. Step two, sexy glasses here forms a plan. Step three, Prompto steals a ship. Step four, we raise a pirate flag. We win." Aranea joked, smirking at Promoto who stuck out two thumbs-up at her plan.

"First we need you to get those royal arms so I can help you steal those boats." Noctis tried to join the in the joke, but his tone was flat. His heart rate was rising again, and he could feel his respirations increasing to match. His vision threatened to blur, and he squinted his eyes shut. He could picture Lunafreya smiling and talking about some book about a pirate she read, wondering if she would fall into book talk with Ignis. "You'll need a first mate who can kick ass with an entire armory in his pocket instead of just one sword." he added in a hoarse voice, biting the back of his tongue when he saw the fragile smile on Prompto's face. "Oh. Here…" he reached out for the can, plucking it from the dust between his knees and imbued it with his magic.

"So much caffeine after two of these I'm gonna be vibrating at a sciency-sounding number of hertz!" Prompto announced.

"A gal's best friend." Aranea quipped. Prompto snorted and a few drops of the sugary drink came from his nose before he slapped a hand over it, his friends snickering around him.

"Well sitting here is making us a specific gal's not-so-best-friends." Crowe added. "I think I can hear with one of my ears. Time to move if you think you can walk. If not we can do an emergency amputation and give you that peg leg you want." Noctis flinched, nodding at her and tried to agree but his voice caught in his throat.

"We should try to get the Blade of the Mystic while it's still light out." Ignis agreed. Noctis was unsure if they could find the weapon in the ruins of the meteor. He wondered if he should call upon Titan to find the thing for him, but recalled his battle with the Astral and doubted his worth. _I lost her again._ What would the Astrals think of his worthiness after losing humanity's messenger to them? He wished Gentiana would apparate and provide guidance.

"I'll stay here and watch him" Crowe suggested, pointing her thumb at Prompto.

"I can help!" he insisted, standing up and wincing. He held himself on two legs without leaning on the Regalia for support, but it was clear all his weight was on just one of his legs. Noctis shook his head at the suggestion,

"Rest up dude. Plus the paths were really narrow, the fewer of us the better." Prompto opened his mouth to protest but Crowe slapped him hard enough on the back to make him stagger, and pain shot through his leg and he had to stumble against the car to keep from collapsing into the dirt, taking in a sharp inhale and squinting his eyes as he the shock in his leg faded.

"Point made." He grumbled, and eased himself to the ground and started massaging his thigh. Noctis met Crowe's eyes, reddened and a deep crease in her brow. She looked as if she was trying to focus on something far in the distance behind him, causing him to look over his shoulder a moment.

"Signal us if there's a problem" Noctis suggested. Crowe looked down at her palm, flexing it into a fist and relaxing it before looking back up at the Prince. She shrugged and nodded, letting a flame appear in her palm then vanish again. He gave her a curt nod, and turned to the other three. "Coming with me?" he asked.

"I want to see this freaky magic in action. And besides, _someone_ needs to watch sexy glasses here." Aranea answered, giving Ignis a firm pat on the back.

"I can hold my own quite well." The advisor insisted.

"I never said the watching had anything to do with _protecting you_." She winked, placed a hand on his shoulder and planted a kiss on Ignis's cheek. Noctis smirked when he saw the redness instantly take over Ignis's face, even the tips of his ears flushing. He exchanged a knowing glance with Gladiolus who barked a laugh, clapping Ignis hard on the back once Aranea started taking a few steps forward, the others quickly following suit.

The once red walls of stone had turned ashen grey with webs of black reaching from Titan's former resting place. The wind whipping around the abnormal geology no longer held its stinging heat, the ground beneath his feet felt cool. He reached a hand out to the stone, hovering it just away from the rock face before he curled his fingers and drew his arm back, wrinkling his nose. He wondered again if he should simply summon Titan, and tried to think of where within his magic he could find the connection to call upon the covenant.

Noctis's quick pace caused him to pass his friends and ally shortly before the path grew too narrow to pass by each other. The air held a metallic smell to it, the near salty taste of it lingered on the back of his tongue causing him to rub it repeatedly against the roof of his mouth trying to clear the foul sensation. _Just get the sword, get every weapon you can, Luna needs you._ He urged himself onward as the goosebumps rolled down his arms, nausea rising as he walked further. It wasn't long until the path became obscured by what looked like a minor rockslide.

"Well how do we plan to get past this?" Aranea asked, Noctis flinching and turning to look over his shoulder.

"I'll warp up." He looked to the top of the rock, answering the itching in his fingertips by welcoming the Engine Blade in his fist, grunting with the effort of throwing it towards the top of the rocks without throwing himself off balance. In a blur he was atop them and it took a moment to ensure his balance. He could hear a few small stones shift beneath his feet, and decided to warp further ahead. This time, landing in a spot that didn't welcome him with a threat. He tried to look around, but it was no longer the semi-ogranized spiral it once was. Grey and black surrounded him on all sides, and he shifted his weight between his feet that were growing more itchy by the second. The discomfort was crawling up his legs and he felt a rising desperation to find the damnable weapon and leave this place. Maybe once he gathered the weapon Titan and Ramuh would blow this place to hell. _Where the hell is it?_ He grimaced, looking at his palm as he vanished his blade. The itch in his feet was in his palms as well now, and he scratched it by rubbing his palm roughly against his pants. He thought he could hear his friends shouting, or likely _cursing_ , at him to get his ass back so they could find a route together. There was no discernable path, no easy way around. _Was the blade lost? What do I do if I fail to get these? Will the gods reject me? Will the Crystal change its mind?_

He recalled his father's lessons, being told that these weapons were echoes. On a hunch he called his Armiger, wincing at the strange sensation that shot through his body as it flashed around him in sparks of blue and black. The metallic smell in his nose and lingering on the back of his tongue grew stronger and he let out a strong huff of air. He felt the slightest tug, and wondered if it was just his own wishful thinking. _Come on, help me find this thing._ He pleaded. He summoned his blade once more, and warped off in the direction Armiger seemed to be instinctually drawing him towards. He thought that it wouldn't be many warps, though his arm grew sore with the force of each throw, but by the seventh he was bent over and panting for breath and let his blade and Armiger vanish. He was standing in a narrow gap between a large boulder, and what had once been part of the pathway leading downward. His surroundings were dark, and he pulled his phone from his pocket to check the time and frowned when he remembered that he had turned it off.

A headache was settling behind his eyes, the discomfort in his entire body making him all the more anxious to find his ancestor's tomb to leave. He rubbed his palms against his pants and roughly tried to turn his feet in hopes of scratching the itch. His nails left red marks on his skin as he chased the maddening sensation. In more than one place he knicked a scab from injuries he couldn't recall leaving a thin trail of blood on his skin that he wiped away uselessly. He decided to clean up once he was done bleeding. He looked at the gap further ahead before trying to press himself through. As he warped, the vague tug from Armiger had grown stronger, and once he landed in the gap he was sure that he needed to pass through the opening.

One hand tapped rapidly against his thigh while the other pressed against the cold rock wall beside him. He thought anything would have been better than the itching, but the cold bit into his skin immediately, a chill running through his entire body and he wished he was wearing his jacket that was left behind in the Regalia. _Why is it so cold?_ He tried to squint, to find any light though the gap that was becoming more narrow as he pressed through until his back was pressed against the rock wall behind him, and both palms helping to brace him against the boulder and continued through the rock. He tried to breathe, but the pressure was to great and he found himself taking rapid shallow breaths. The pain in hsi head intensified, joined by a dizziness that soon spread a sensation of static throughout his skin. He bit his tongue to stop the chattering of his teeth as his body began to shiver. _I need to fill vials._ He thought, biting harder on his tongue as he realized that all his magic vials were in the Regalia's trunk.

"Godsdamnit!" he cursed, finding it harder to push through the gap. He tried to look through the corner of his eye, too compressed now to turn his head without abrasing his skin on the frigid stone. He was losing sensation in his hands and feet, and tried to draw in a deep breath. He phased through doors, and his eyes stung as a memory flashed of phasing to be greeted by Lunafreya's warm embrace. He would have given anything to feel her light soothe away the cold, the pain, this desire to scratch every surface of his skin. To have her voice reassure him he was worthy, he would find this weapon.

He found his magic, wondering for only half a moment if he would breath the phase and kill himself as his body merged with rock. He swallowed back bile at the thought of _mixing_ with this place and tried to force himself as far as he could. He followed the magic, trusting it, releasing it when he felt the underwater sensation leave. He found himself sliding down a slope, and cursed as he tumbled uselessly down over the rough uneven surface.

He was able to reach out and hook his fingertips around a rock just enough to slow his tumble, a second grip slowing him more, and the third finally stopped him with a hard jerk in his shoulder. He cursed loudly, squinting his eyes and pressing his forehead against the rock and sand. The freezing rock was only marginally colder than the air around him. He was reminded of Tenebrae, and the two winter weeks he would spend at the manor. He would always want to stay swaddled in blankets before the roaring fire in her room, but she somehow always coaxed him into going outside. To see the snow-coated landscape, to see the frozen waterfalls of the floating islands, or simply to breathe air outside of her bedroom. _She's trapped again. Get up._ He tried to find a place to warp to, somewhere he could safely call out Armiger so it could help him find one of its companions. He rolled onto his back, pushing his heels against rock to keep himself from resuming his slide.

He warped and called his magic, and it was one more warp later he found himself looking at the only white stone in the sea of grey and black. There were tendrils of the black webbing crawling up the sides, but the alabaster was still stark enough to catch his attention immediately. He reached out to the magnetic pull, wincing as the itching grew intense enough to overpower the prickling numbness. He noted how pale his fingertips were and tried to push the concern aside. The blade flashed with black and blue, forcing him to close his eyes. He felt the instant of absolute agony before it spread through his limbs. He groaned, both hands slapping over the place just above his stomach that the blade chose to test him. He tried to gasp for breath, the air burning his throat. His whole body felt like it was convulsing as he shivered. _Get out get out get out_. He urged himself, trying to find the power to get back to his feet. He couldn't remember when he put the ancient weapons away, but left them gone and pulled out Engine Blade.

He didn't know how many warps it took to get back, his mind consumed with finding comfort. He needed warmth, he needed to find something barasive to rub against his skin. He needed something to chase the pain in his head, the pain in his throat. Hell, he'd settle for Gladiolus punching him. At least the pain of a punch would distract him. After another warp he looked at his fingers, now painfully numb. The pale skin has the slightest hint of blue and he shook his head, convinced he was imagining it. He warped. And warped again. Each time he landed he couldn't keep himself upright. His blade would vanish the moment he landed, refusing to answer his call for several seconds, each stop the pause growing longer. _Get back. Get back for Luna. She needs you._

He imagined her worried expression, then laughed at himself. He knew that she would make fun of him for not tolerating the cold, _such a Lucian._ She would joke. She would press her palms to his face, her forehead against his, pouring pure relief into his body. Then he knew she would fix everything with a taste of her lips, the sound of her voice, the feel of her breath against his cheek. He couldn't muster the imagination of how his friends would react. Instead, he clung to the image of Lunafreya, forcing himself to continue erratically warping in the direction from which he came. He could see his friends, and laughed with releif. His voice was hoarse, broken. His final warp failed partway through and he crashed into the rocks a mere ten meters away from them, before blessed blackness overtook him.


	39. Recollection

Wow this took me forever, I'm so sorry. I've been working a lot of extra hours recently so I've just been exhausted. I do hope you enjoy this!u

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Lunafreya rolled her shoulder and massaged the skin once the metallic fingers from the Magitek released her. The airship's door closed behind them with a hiss of compressed air and an echoing metallic _clank_. She felt a nudge against her back and started to proceed with her escorts. They walked two-by-two through the cramped hallways, painted gray with red lines, lined with thin red tube lights that seemed to be a source of a constant buzzing. The air smelled metallic enough to linger on her tongue, punctuated by the chilled air that was enough to raise goosebumps on Lunafreya's arms. Three red lines on the wall turned into two flanking a series of dashes, telling her that they had walked from the entrance to the barracks.

They turned right and the pattern on the wall became one thick red line, painted into the floor and ceiling as well. She counted the doors, and as she expected they stopped at the fourth one. The Magitek to her right held out a small card to the square just beside the doorknob, the red light blinked green, and the door was opened before another rough nudge to her back caused her to stumble inside.

"Be more careful." Verstael's voice snapped and there was a jarring impact of metal on metal. She flinched but kept her back to the door, eyes scanning the small room. A short bookshelf served as an end-table beside the twin sized bed. The opposite corner had a small square table and a single chair. A squared light was imbedded in the ceiling casting a yellow glow to the room, and a hatch was centered in the back wall that covered a window. "Get rest Lady Lunafreya. We have work to do tomorrow and I prefer to start early in the morning. Your meals will be brought to you."

She flinched again when the door shut, causing her to spin on her heels and could feel her rapid breaths burning her throat. The hair on her arms and back of her neck stood on end and she hugged her arms to chase the chill. A humming above her head came from the shutter pattern in the air vent rushing cold air into the small room. She squinted to fight off the burning in her eyes, fingertips digging harder into her skin as her shoulders closed in and the first sob broke through her throat. She felt the rush of blood to her face and forced herself to stand taller and bite her lip to fight the wave of dizziness until it passed. She staggered several steps away from the door and dropped herself onto the edge of the small bed.

The metal creaked as she settled her weight, lying on her side and drawing her knees to her chest. She closed her eyes, trying to deny how fast her pulse throbbed her ears nearly drowned out by the sound of her own tachypnea. _You'll get back out. You'll get back out of this room._ She tried to convince herself. She wanted Noctis's arms to come around her, feel him kiss her ear and assure her that everything would be okay. She even wanted to hear Crowe curse at her and tell her to get her sorry ass out of that bed. She could picture the woman telling her to _kick them so hard in the mouth they'll shit their own teeth for a month._ And almost _felt_ her mother rolling in her grave that she could even think such crude thoughts. And then pictured Noctis's Shield Gladiolus patting her on the back and laughing that she was finally one of them.

She sniffed as her nose felt like it was going to run, causing her breath to stutter allowing her to become aware of how sore her throat felt and the ache settling into her ribs. _I… I was one of them. I… had friends?_ She pondered. She bit her lip again, guilt rising causing her heart to accelerate again. That broken gaze as she turned away from Noctis caused her memory to flash to when she let her hand slip from Regis's grip. The way Noctis screamed for her, the heartbroken twisted expression on Regis as he kept running without her before turning back to the road ahead, Noctis continuing to reach for her until he was out of her sight. She squinted, wanting to stay grounded and not allow her memory to overtake her. To force back old fears, old pains. She curled on herself once more, arms wrapped around her chest as she cried until her voice was hoarse and her eyes ached.

She rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling and started to count to control her inhale and exhale, slowing the sobs and and eventually in turn her heart slowed and the throbbing in her body eased. She pictured home, and the serenity she felt when nestled with a book, stealing glances outside to the floating islands and the promise of adventure they held when Ravus would help her sneak out with him. She tried to replace the metallic smell of the ship with the smell of the book in her hands, and the plate of sweets to accompany the herbal tea. The still and sterile air with the cool breeze of Tenebrae. The groan of the welded joints and echoing footsteps with her mother's humming and the strong wind outside the window. She found the ease settling into her limbs, and continued her controlled breathing pattern. _You got away once. You can do it again._ The thought snapped her eyes open just as her thoughts had threatened to drift to her home aflame, and the face of Caligo looking down at her. She jolted her to her feet to look him in the eye, shaking her head and letting out a huff of air. _Calm you foolish girl. Caligo isn't here._

She looked around the room, hoping to take a better analysis than before. But her second look provided little more information. She took the steps to the back and reached for the latch covering the window. She thumbed the latched and was a bit surprised when it opened with a protesting squeak, the latch connected to the wall on the other side to keep it open. She pressed her palm to the glass, the small gap between her hand and its reflection indicating the thickness, the bars on the other side eliminating the window as any hope for escape. She sighed, leaving it open to allow some natural blue light to offset the yellow glow that would eventually instigate a headache when the sun set leaving her with nothing but the square light above her head.

She returned to the bed, relieved to find that at the least, the small bookshelf contained books and layed back on the bed, hoping to pass the time until her mind found the ability to sleep. A quiet clatter and a new humming stole her attention and she winced as cold air blew down at her, coming from an air vent beside the light. She sighed, shimmying under the blanket tucked tightly into the bed with Niflehiem's usual military rigidity to hide from the chill, and re-read the page that she had failed to retain a single word from. The classic novel was one of her mother's favorites, written by the Tenebraean author Aria Melodium; of a Princess stolen from her home and kept as a captive by the dragon Vulcan as a gold thief to build his hoard until a Knight rescues her, being given the Princess's hand and the two lived happily ever after. Her mother used to read it to her in snipits at bedtime as a child, but she still made it nearly halfway through the book long after sunset, eyes strained reading it in the dim yellow light, before sleep finally claimed her into a long dreamless night.

A metallic banging startled her from her sleep, Lunafreya jolting upright with her heart racing and her chest heaving as it took her some seconds to register that she was awake, and several more to remember where she was. She rubbed her face roughly and took in, and released a long breath while the startle faded, blinking away the remnants of slumber before she narrowed her eyes at the door. Another severe knock had her curl her lip and she straightened out her severely wrinkled clothing and realized how unpleasant she smelled. She walked over to the door and immediately realized there was no way to open it from her side. _Lucky I didn't need a restroom._ She thought, and rolled her eyes at the third set of pounding knocks.

"You must open the door from _your_ side!" she shouted. The door opened and she saw there was a pair of Magitek, and a familiar face flanked between them. "Nettmann?" she asked, stepping back from the door.

"Good morning my Lady Lunafreya. Sleep well?"

"How?" she blurted, then bit her tongue. "I slept well." she answered.

"Doctor Besithia doesn't like losing his toys, so there's advantages to being one." The soldier answered. "Perhaps we can talk more over dinner tonight? For now, follow me. Doctor Besithia wants you clean and dressed, he has a long day planned." She nodded and took the package from the Magitek. There was a towel, and a folded Niflheim uniform. Nettmann cleared his throat to gather her attention, and she nodded before following him, flanked by the two Magitek. "Did you sleep well?"

"Well enough." she answered.

"You read at all?" he asked. She quirked her brow at this question before trying to find a neutral expression again.

"Yes. Always helps me to relax."

"I encouraged Doctor Besithia to stock some fantasy books. You always liked those."

"Oh. Thank you." Her brow came together as she thought about this preparation. _Verstael was counting on finding me._ "Are we heading back to Tenebrae?" she asked. Nettmann shook his head,

"Verstael has stuff to attend to first."

"Caligo will be displeased. As will Aldercapt."

"Doctor Besithia doesn't answer to Brigadier General Ulldor, and _Our Emperor_ Aldercapt has already given himl freedom to research the Blight as he sees fit." She blinked at this, lips pursing as she tried to process the fact _anyone_ from Nifleheim having a degree of freedom not restrained by their superiors. Her thoughts drifted back to the people of Niflheim, and bit her lip. She wasn't there to tour the towns. _How bad has the Blight spread in my absence that Aldercapt has given Verstael the freedom to research it however he pleases?_ The thought arise that perhaps allowing herself to return to the west would be best, so she could cure the people while Noctis prepared by collecting his royal arms. Her chest tightened at the thought, and she bit the back of her tongue. _No. He needs me to awaken the Six my light is merely a bandage on the gaping wound._ But she couldn't push away the memories of the ill and dying that would stand and embrace her when she pulled back from her prayer over them.

"So why is Verstael in Lucis and not back in Niflheim if its his Blight research he wants to focus on?" she inquired.

"Never claimed I understand Doctor Besithia. Just a cushy job."

"Like guarding the hall of the Manor of a spoiled Princess?" she quipped. She flinched when he spun around, and he chuckled when he saw her halt her steps the moment he turned.

"So you _haven't_ fully become a deviant in your time away. Your brother will be happy." Nettman chuckled and shrugged, resuming his walk. She hesitated until he put some distance between them before one of the Magitek pushed on her back to get her to resume following him.

"Ravus? Is he here?" A spark of hope ignited in her heart.

"Not here. But as a brother worried about his little sister he does check in from time to time hoping for word." Nettmann explained. _If I can get word to him, perhaps he can get me away from here._

She was led to a hallway with blue stripes on the wall and passed by a set of doors, stopping at the second. Nettmann pushed a door open on their left and gestured for Lunafreya to go inside. "The showers are through here my Lady." She walked passed him, turning once in the room to wait for him to shut the door.

"I will be able to set to showering faster once you shut that door." She stated after several seconds.

"I should stand guard, keep you safe." He answered, stepping into the room with a smirk.

"From Verstael's own Magitek? Perhaps once I go to his office I can discuss your concerns for his machines with him?" she asked. Nettmann curled his lip and gave her the privacy she wanted. Feeling like she needed to scrub away the lingering feeling of his eyes on her she set the linen down on the bench running along the wall across from the narrow shower stalls. She stepped inside, feeling overly exposed in the empty room goosebumps rolling down her limbs before she willed herself to remove her dirty outfit and set it beside the clean set. She wrapped an arm around her chest, stepping back into the stall and turned the knob to take a lukewarm shower. She pulled her hair loose from its low ponytail and slipped the elastic around her wrist. The lingering smell and taste of metal that came with being on an airship made her feel as if there was a film on her skin, and she scrubbed at herself until her skin was pink and sore, realizing tears were burning her eyes again.

She looked up into the shower head to clear her face and reached to shut off the nozzle, sure that if she took much longer there would be a pounding on the door followed by the groan of it opening. She reached quickly for her towel, stepping back into the stall to dry herself off, eyeing the empty room. She draped the towel over the stall's wall and grabbed the clean uniform. It was loose, and she had to tighten the belt nearly all the way to keep the pants on her hips. She looked at her soiled clothing but before she could debate redressing herself in them for the better fit the expected knock came on the door and Nettmann poked his head in, and she was surprised to see his head turned towards the wall away from the stalls.

"I'm dressed." she stated, and he turned to face her.

"You can leave your dirty linen there." he tried to suggest, but she shook her head,

"I'd rather take them back to my room." she answered, tightening her grip on the clothing she was wearing.

"We'll have the Magitek clean it, and bring it back." he tried again, with more insistence in his voice. He approached her and reached for the bundle in her arms, and she let him pull it from her grip with a frown. "I'll have it delivered to your room. You've stalled long enough." he turned, one of the Magitek swung out its arm to hold the door ajar for Lunafreya, who let out a long breath and followed the Nifleheimer. She wound her hair into a simple bun to keep it off her neck and avoid further dampening the back of the uniform she was wearing.

Through more hallways with shifting paint patterns until they were in one with thick double-lines with dots above and below them. The floor had a series of what at first looked like arrow heads, and took Lunafreya a moment to realize they were the letter V, wincing at her own delay in observation. Nettmann tried to make conversation with her, but she hadn't focused on his words and looked up to meet his gaze when he halted to turn about.

"You all right?" he asked, quirking a brow.

"Tired." she answered with a shrug.

"Doctor Besithia has coffee perpetually brewing in that office of his. Pretty sure his body is more caffeine than blood. Not sure the man even sleeps…" he mumbled. "Few more doors down." Lunafreya felt her stomach grumble as the mention of coffee had her thinking of the campfire breakfasts with instant coffee provided by Ignis, punctuated by the thought of how many hours it had been since her last meal. "And don't worry he plans on feeding you." he added, as if reading her mind. Or, more likely, having heard the loud rumble of her stomach.

"Will you be joining us?" she asked as a formality.

"I haven't had breakfast yet, so yes. Beats eating alone in my bunk," he shrugged. "I could use company." He turned to wink at her over his shoulder and she stared back with a flat expression, fingers twitching as she kept her arms by her sides. "That… wasn't my implication. There's no need to look at me like that." His tone was deeper, and he let out a hard huff of air through his nose, and she slowed her pace to allow the distance between them to grow when she saw the muscles in his neck tense. "Doctor Besithia is not the most personable and it can get a little lonely on an airship with only these MTs for company."

"I was never overly fond of the puppets," she answered. Bile lingered at the back of her throat, heart starting to race again as she wondered for how long this man would be her only company. She was grateful for the books in her room so she could retreat into solitude. They reached the door and everything was a familiar routine. The knock on the office, an exchange of bows, the obligatory invitation to come inside.

She was instructed to sit down at a table, sitting in the seat a Magitek pulled out for her. She was told to be sure she ate well, to have energy for the day. At the mention of energy Nettmann passed on Lunafreya's request for coffee, earning her a shrug and a mug was shortly brought to her. A plate was placed before her, toast and eggs with some fruit. She was instructed to finish her meal, drink enough water. She kept her eyes low and on her plate. She thought of eggs cooked on a campfire, the gritty bitterness of the instant coffee or the smooth nutty taste of Ebony. She thought toast, uneven doneness from cooking it over a fire. The odd smokey taste that she would cover by mopping up her eggs with it.

She bit into the rich buttery toast, high quality foods that only life in the high ranks of military could earn. She bit hard into the toast to mask the fact she was biting down on her tongue. Formalities were exchanged, and her brow came together as she missed the banter of her friends. Complaints about the lack of sugar for the coffee, or how hard the ground was. Hugging her hoodie closer to chase the morning chill, rather than moving uncomfortably in the oversized starchy uniform provided for her.

"Lady Lunafreya?" she looked up, meeting Verstael's gaze. "I asked if you slept well? I hope you feel rested today. We have a lot of work to do."

"Yes." She replied with a curt nod. She ate, pausing between bites to nod or answer simple questions. She stared at her cup of coffee, sipping at it hoping that it would give her the energy needed to get through the day. She followed Verstael into his lab while Magitek cleaned the table from breakfast. She was sat in a chair and submitted to his tests. Checking her vital signs, drawing four vials of blood, flashing lights into her eyes and mouth. She let him swab the inside of her cheek and check her reflexes. He lanced her bicep and tapped at it with a white paper, staring at his watch until the small prick stopped bleeding and mumbled under his breath adding to the scribbles on his clipboard.

The airship shuddered, Verstael explaining they were landing. He stood and left his office, and she followed him after a nudge on her back from Nettmann. They were escorted again by Magitek, through the painted halls until the pattern was three lines. They halted at the door, Lunafreya watched Verstael shout a command to a Magitek who tapped a code into the door, 173205080. She found it curious that Verstael had never changed the code. The door hissed, and she squinted as bright white light lined the doorway as it separated from the ship. She blinked rapidly to adjust to the sudden brightness, and stumbled over the ramp as they stepped forward to followed Verstael when Nettmann once again pushed on her back. And immediately recognized where she was.

"Where are we?" She asked, feeling like a fog finally dissipated from her mind.

"VL-3"

"Verstael Lucian Research Outpost Three." Nettmann clarified. _How?_ She wondered, looking around.

"Inform Doctor Lorren that I have arrived and to meet me in my office." Verstael instructed Nettmann. The soldier bowed and left. _How?_ Lunafreya wondered, her brow coming together. Her throat tightened, and she looked around the base. The layout was identical to any base she had ever been brought to. The same tall tower, buildings in rows. "Follow me Lady Lunafreya." She nodded and let herself be led through the rows. A Magitek entered a code and pulled the door open, holding it until the two humans had entered.

The room held an instant familiarity. Despite the same aesthetic the inside of the office was better lit than the inside of the airship, though still cast in the same red glow. An open window did allow natural light to filter in. She saw a small bed against the wall in the corner Opposite it was a desk, but rather than against the wall was pushed away enough so the chair to it faced the bed. The walls were lined with bookshelves with books in neat rows. The desk was clean, not coated in the array of paper, notebooks, books, and pens that she would have expected all held down with heavy coffee mugs. There was the trademark coffee maker with a bag of grounds on a filing cabinet with three coffee mugs lined up neatly next to it.

Without a command the Magitek crossed the room and started getting the coffee maker started, vanishing through a small door, she assumed to get water for it. Verstael gestured at the bed before settling down onto the desk chair, pulling out a notebook and started to read it. Lunafreya crossed the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. It groaned like the one on the airship as she settled her weight upon it and she sank into the flimsy mattress. She stared down at her hands, brows knit together. _What happened to the hunters? What's going on here again if Doctor Lorren is free?_ There was a knock at the door, snapping her attention when it opened upon a Magitek's command.

"Ah, Doctor Lorren. Come in." Lunafreya could remember the face of the terrified woman who had been locked in a small lab with the others when her and her friends had arrived at this base. The woman responsible for the ghostly expression locked on Ignis and Aranea's faces, and what she suspected was the source of their nightmares. She was dressed in the same clothing as before, a white lab coat over a Nifleheim uniform. She looked like an entirely different woman holding herself tall. He hair was pulled back into a tight bun and she strode across the room to Verstael.

"Welcome." She greeted. "Can I fetch you anything?"

"I have what I need. I see you remembered my coffee."

"Not easy to import into Lucis, but I managed.

"Have you managed to catch up on your work?" he asked, thumbing through the notebook in his hand.

"The Lucians interrupted months of work. I've hardly had the time." Dorcas answered, curling her lip, and turned to Lunafreya. "Curious that the Oracle has been so tantamount to your own research yet the harbinger of doom to my own."

"Stop. I will not harm the Oracle to satisfy your frustration, nor did I come here to have you complain. Do you have your latest reports? This one seems rather old."

"Right away sir. Will you and the Oracle be staying the night?" she asked.

"In my airship." he answered. "Report?"

"Right." Dorcas handed Verstael a binder and he started flipping through it. Silence filled the room and Lunafreya wished she had brought one of the books with her. Verstael read in silence and startled both women when he jerked upright and coughed.

"Seems like you've started making progress again on the vectors of transmission for the Starscrourge Blight." Lunafreya noticed how Dorcas straightened herself, head tilting up and shoulders quaring. She was glad she couldn't see whatever smile was likely on the woman's face. Verstael was focused on the paperwork in his hands, flicking through the pages and occasionally licking his finger before turning to the next one.

"It's no mystery why this parasite is so contagious. Usually parasites don't spread like this." Dorcas answered him.

"Not in Nifleheim. I've read about outbreaks in the Duscae regions of Lucis, far back when the populations were more… dense, than they are now. Insects can be troublesome. Thinning populations and a decade-long drought has effectively rendered biting insects locally endangered." The male doctor murmured.

"Yet this scourge spread so fast in western Nifleheim."

"I am _well aware_ of how fast this spread." Verstael's jaw tensed, lines appearing in his cheeks and he let out a long breath through his nose. "I wanted vectors researched to find out _why_."

"It seems to carry nearly every vector. But I've studied the blood further. It's like the body realizes there's infection but not that it is a parasite. Look at the white count differentials, the eosinophil levels stay the same. But the neutrophil levels are high." she began to bounce on one leg, crossing her arms and drumming her fingers on her arm.

"And you did not notice this previously?" he asked, finally looking up and knitting his brows at her.

"Until recently I lacked the sufficient equipment. You were able to get us sufficient grants but ordering the equipment I needed from Nifleheim proved difficult to obtain… and the only place in this damned continent that seemed to manufacture anything was Insomnia." Dorcas explained.

"Please sit, your restlessness is distracting." He complained, waving a hand at her. She looked around, realizing the only place to sit was the small cot Lunafreya was sitting on. Said woman moved over and folded her hands together, eyes still locked on her clasped hands as the doctor sat down beside her.

"How many patients are you currently working with?" He asked, hunching over the desk and looking back down at the notebook.

"Right now nine infected, not including the three who died. Seveneen more potentials in the barracks. Brigadier General Ulldor and Commander Fleuret felt keeping any more was too risky. I was hoping you'd talk some sense into them. It's hard to study infection vectors in such a small control group. I've studied the records from recent outbreaks in Gralea, even got my hands on Insomnian records, Altissia. But the Lucians don't keep strict records outside the capitol. But I need to see things in real time, larger groups, better controls. And I need more of the Lucian records, they're… informative"

"Hmm. Perhaps I should sent Magitek into the city." Verstael mumled, picking up a pen and starting to tap it repeatedly against the desk. "I want a copy of the records you've obtained. Meanwhile, I have a task for you. As you've noticed I have the Oracle with me. I want you to have her heal your nine infected patients. Study their blood and tissues. If you have good initial results we can submit a new grant request for you, get you a larger lab. Maybe to the Northern Muspelheim Mountains Prison."

Lunafreya felt her stomach churn, and her vision turned pinpoint while heat flashed into her neck and cheeks, the tips of her ears going numb. Her fingertips dug into the backs of her hands while her knuckles turned white. _They want to bring me back to Niflheim? Torture an entire prison of people like those three men we saw?_ She swallowed hard, squinting and trying to focus on her breathing to suppress the roiling in her stomach. The sound of their voices faded away with the throbbing in her ears, a sound like ocean waves making focusing on the conversation difficult.

"My Lady?" She looked up, seeing Dorcas was addressing her. She stood up and put a smile on her face.

"Doctor."

"Doctor Verstael and I would like you to heal those infected with the blight at our various Lucian research bases." Lunafreya's brows lifted but she tried to settle herself back into a neutral expression.

"I'm always happy to provide my light to those in need." she answered with a light bow of her head. _To what end?_ She pondered. She wasn't being dragged to villages to stem the spread of the Blight. She didn't want to be a tool of Dorcas Lorren's experiments. Didn't want to help her torture more people.

She allowed herself to be led away from the small office, through the rows of buildings until she was facing a familiar door. They passed through, and the interior was different than what she remembered. rather than three beds there were ten, five against the east and west walls with a narrow aisle separating them and hardly enough room between the beds for basic equipment, most of it bolted to the wall, or at the foot of the beds with a tangle of cords running beneath the beds. The smell in the room hit her stomach before her mind could register it. The sharp smell of bleach failed to cover the sickly-sweet scent of death, urine, and the metallic scent of blood.

Lunafreya let out a steady huff of air through her nose to give herself a moment to try and compose herself. She blinked rapidly to soothe the startled sting in her eyes. She pinched the web between her right thumb and forefinger to suppress the wave of nausea. Nine of the beds were occupied, the tenth bed made and tucked to military standards. The four to her left were tucked up to their chins, a mercy that saved her from seeing more like the others in the five beds to her right. They were stripped naked save for an incontinence brief. Dark circles rimmed their eyes. Their cheeks were sunken, blue staining the tips of their noses and their ears. Their lips were blue, standing out sharply against their pale skin. Their veins stood out against their skin, black wherever wasn't blue. The man furthest from her looked as if his fingers were already black, and she wondered if she was even able to save him. There were dark dried patches on the mattress beneath him, and the edges of his brief. Blood oozed from his nose and down the sides of his face, from the corners of his eyes and and his ears. There were scabbed scratches on his arms. Most were scabbed, some were still trickling blood. There was an IV in his arm, and even from across the room she could see the clear bandage covering the insertion site was bubbled with dark blood. But she was instructed to start with the man closest to her on the right, kneeling by his bedside.

Her own anxiety, fear, wants, fatigue, washed away as she reached out to rouse the first man. Seeing the fragile smile on his face as she told him she was the Oracle helped to bring one to her own. She cupped his face, pressing her forehead to his and started to whisper her prayer. She could feel the Blight surging through him. The disease was advanced, enough that a day or two may have been too late. It made her skin itch, but she ignored the discomfort until she felt the sensation fade and the intensity of the disease wash away from the man. She smiled and nodded at him as he started to thank her and whisper prayers to the Six for bringing her to him. She turned from him so he couldn't see the way her face tightened, dread settling deep into her stomach. She moved on to the second man, then the third.

As she carried through the row her sense of dread grew deeper and gnawed at her stomach. Her fatigue grew and her motions grew slower, the ache in her joints growing. But she continued to smile to each of the men. When she finished she stood by the tenth bed, staring down at the sheets and gripped her arms.

"Rest, Lady Lunafreya." She flinched, turning to Verstael. "Stay here in case they need more healing. The Magitek will be outside. I have reports and records to review with Doctor Lorran. Sit on the bed and rest." He gestured at the tenth bed, and she nodded at him and forced a smile.

"Thank you." she stated. He turned and left, two Magitek guarding the inside of the door. She was sure there were at least two more outside. She sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. An itch ran through her limbs but she closed her eyes to focus her breathing until it faded. Her attempts were interrupted by someone calling her name. She looked up, the hoarse voice difficult to ascertain.

"Hello?" she called, looking around. One of the covered men one bed further away from her was stirring, and she got to her feet quickly enough to leave her momentarily dizzy, pressing the heel of her hand to the side of her head. "Please, rest Sir." she suggested.

"Lunafreya…" he insisted again. There was something familiar about the voice and she crossed the space to the bed, kneeling again beside him. Natural color had returned to his face, allowing her to see his features. He had short brown hair slightly longer than last she saw him, and greasy from an unknown length of time in bed. His once short and neat beard coated his face and matched the dark tone of his hair. His blue eyes locked onto hers, and her brows shot up with instant recognition.

"Sir Leonis!" There had to be dozens of men last time she saw this bas, urged by the legendary Immortal that the base was under control. "Oh Gods… what happened here?"


	40. Through the Trees

My long week is upon me in my odd work cycle, and I'm working extra hours so my free time this week is extremely limited. I wasn't sure how i felt about ending this chapter where I did but I wanted to post a small chapter rather than nothing.

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Noctis was rolling his fingers against his temples trying to ease the throbbing pain threatening to send him back into unconsciousness. His memory after gathering the Blade of the Mystic was spotty. He vaguely recalled setting up camp on a haven, and nearly being forced into a tent. There had been a fleeting thought about rushing off into the night, daemons be damned, to hunt down the airship that took Lunafreya away from him. But fatigue wrapped its arms around him, lulling him to sleep with the promising of easing the heavy ache in his joints, every muscle, every bone, the throbbing in his head and his eyes. His body ached anyway. The jostling of the car on the unpaved road wasn't helping. It felt agonizingly claustrophobic with the roof up, air conditioner blasting to counter the noontime heat. It was hotter than usual, and everyone had agreed to close the car. He lolled his head back and immediately regretted it, sitting up straight and pressing both palms over his face until the vertigo passed, mumbling semi-coherently at his friends who asked if he was okay. His stomach roiled as his brain tried to convince him he was in a tumbler, finally settling after several seconds. He blinked rapidly and looked at his arms, frowning at how many dark bruises marked his skin.

"Where are we going?" Noctis asked, ignoring the second wave of queries on his condition. Only succeeding in speech on his second try after clearing his burning throat. "Gods I need something to drink."

"Myrlwood. To gather the Star of the Rogue." Ignis answered from the front seat. He jerked the steering wheel, causing the passengers in the car to lurch. Gladiolus swore, Noctis hissed and rubbed his shoulder that hit the side of the Regalia. Aranea grunted, and blew out a hard breath and tossed Ignis a glance before twisting in the passenger seat, holding out a metal water bottle,

"It's piss warm but it's water." She offered. Noctis mumbled and reached out, draining the contents and setting the bottle down after a loud gasp. He panted for breath for a few seconds, having drank so fast his throat and stomach protested causing his headache to throb again. He dropped the bottle between his feet and settled back again.

"Turn around. We need to chase the airship." He insisted.

"We are no match for an airship of Magitek puppets. And we need time to think of a plan. May as well pass it getting stronger." Ignis countered. He shifted in his seat, reaching up to adjust the rearview mirror.

"I should have called Titan to snatch that airship out of the sky." He mumbled. He looked down at his palms and flexed his fingers, his skin felt itchy and he rubbed it against his pants and curled his lip. Two of his fingernails were bruised so dark they were black.

"Drink a potion." His advisor commanded. His tone was sharp and Noctis blinked several times, brow knit together as he looked up at the man, seeing his stern expression reflected in the rearview. "You need your strength. We need to get through the Myrlwood quickly so we don't get stuck there during the night."

"Don't worry dude… we'll get that weapon make you glitter with even more blue, and knock some Niff skulls in!" Promtpo cheered, reaching out and punching Noctis hard on the arm. The blond was smiling with lifted brows, shoulders hunched as he drummed his fingers on the knee of his bouncing leg.

"Damn right we well." Gladiolus echoed. The same damn thing Noctis had promised himself when he was eight. And every night since, until finally, he ran from the Nifs with her hand clutched within his. He was lying in bed at night with her by his side. He was glad for working himself into a blackout at the meteor. How the hell was he going to sleep? Prompto hit him again to try and get his attention, and Noctis finally nodded and rubbed at his arm.

"Yeah." He nodded, then his features twisted. "We'll make them regret ever putting a finger on her." He again recalled with a bitter taste in his mouth these very promises he made to get himself to fall asleep at night when guilt and regret consumed him. His friends tried to encourage him for a few more minutes, but when responded to only with silence or a curt nod shifted subjects. They passed the time talking about whatever subject cropped up. Token efforts to talk about Gladiolus's most recent book, or the music on the radio. The car lurched to a stop when they pulled to the side of the road when they couldn't continue any further.

"You need some coffee man?" Gladiolus barked, too happy to get out of the congested car. "Oh Six!" He shouted, clamping a hand over his nose as soon as he stepped out. "Smells like rotting eggs!"

"Aren't swamps just lovely?" Prompto cheered, clasping his hands together and batting his eyes. "The beautiful scenery, the alluring smells. Perfect place for a romantic date!" Prompto took in a deep breath and immediately coughed, earning him a slap on the back hard enough to cause him to stumble. He cursed, catching himself on the door of the Regalia and glared up at Gladiolus who wore a smile that seemed to be warring between apologetic and trying not to laugh with the occasional twitch in the corner of his lips. Crowe parked the motorcycle close to the Regalia and climbed off, and after glancing at the Prince talking with his advisor and the Nifleheimer woman, decided she was in better company with her fellow Shield and the blond.

"You up for this?" Crowe asked, cocking her head to the side at Prompto, gesturing at the leg he was hovering off the ground. His hair was damp with sweat already, his flushed cheeks and dark circles around his eyes were an intense contrast to how pale the rest of his face was. "You look like shit. You should just get some more rest."

"I wanna help Noct do whatever it takes to help get Luna back." Prompto quickly countered.

"Can you put weight on your leg yet?" she asked, crossing her arms. He frowned, shifting himself to stand up, taking a step with a wince and a sharp intake of breath.

"Totally! See!" He cheered, gesturing to his leg.

"You need more rest." Crowe insisted.

"Gotta agree with her, sorry." Gladiolus shrugged. Prompto pouted, and tried to take several more steps to prove that he was okay. But he moved slow, and eventually stood balanced on one leg to keep the pressure off the other.

"You're _not_ okay." Noctis finally added. He was looking down at his hand, flexing his fingers and a can appeared in it. "Here." He held out the drink, wiping his palm against his pants.

"Whoa look at your hand dude." Prompto remarked, absently holding the can and staring at Noctis. Everyone turned to the prince, and Gladiolus grabbed his wrist so he could get a proper look.

"Shit." he mumbled.

"It's just some bad bruising," Noctis insisted. "Let's just get to that tomb. The faster we get the weapons the faster we can take on the Nifs and get Luna back. Prompto just stay here and rest that leg…"

"I won't slow you down! I promise I can keep up!" He frowned, taking several more steps. "Here I'll chug this down and I can totally keep up!" He flipped the tab and brought the can to his lips, dropping it with a loud gasp and pressed fist to his mouth in a failed attempt to cover a belch. He put some test pressure on his leg, wincing, but no longer felt the need to keep the leg in the air.

"I'm not worried about you slowing me down. I don't want you walking on that leg if it hurts that bad." Noctis replied, his brows knitting together and wondering if he had been pushing his friends too hard to get these arms and rescue Lunafreya. Though everything had been a blur. _Did we stop for the night somewhere?_ He realized that blacking out after obtaining the weapon from the meteor he lost track of date and time. But then he recalled again making camp and his fleeting thoughts of running away.

"What if I stay 'n keep you company? Pretty sure I have a deck of cards stashed in my mysterious bottomless bag of bullshit." Crowe offered, thumbing to the motorcycle's side bags that had been used to mostly carry the smaller camping supplies.

"Get some rest dude… you can come with me for the next one okay?" Noctis offered. Prompto pouted, testing the weight on his injured leg again and let out a razzberry in a long release of breath.

"Fine. But you owe me some serious chocolate bars!" He declared. Noctis chuckled, managing a smile.

"Deal. You go sit down and I'll buy you some chocolate." He nearly rolled his eyes at how immature the request was, but suppressed the urge. Crowe tapped rapidly on Prompto's shoulder to get his attention, the blond man rolling his shoulder hard.

"Okay okay. I'll go sit! Ugh… this is gonna be so boring since I can't turn my phone on and watch a movie." He complained. "What do we do if trouble happens? We can't call each other."

"Kick it's ass. Now sit!" Crowe answered, pointing at the car. "Princey will do the same."

"I'll make sure he gets back in one piece." Gladiolus assured, wrapping an arm around Noctis's shoulder. Noctis groaned, rolling his eyes and shoved his Shield away from him. He laughed, straightening up and thumbed behind them, "well we should probably get going or we'll be camping in a daemon infested swamp soon."

"Do be cautious of the water." Ignis added.

"Yeah it doesn't look right." Aranea wrinkled her nose, side stepping away from the water to her left.

"Probably why it smells worse than Prompto's ass." Gladiolus remarked, pinching his nose.

"You that familiar with his ass?" Aranea teased, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Share a tent with him one night!" He barked back. The others laughed, and started to walk away, Gladiolus holding up a middle finger when Prompto shouted an indignant _Hey!_ sure that he was giving a finger of his own.

There hadn't been a storm in the region for two weeks, and the water levels were low enough to leave a dry path deeper into the Myrlwood. The trees were thick, sunlight thinned by the dense foliage above them. The water was dark, and resembled oil slicks more than the miniature algae filled ponds typical to a swamp. The fallen leaves looked more decayed than expected, staining the ground and adding an old musty dampness to the already unpleasant sulfuric odor of the swamp. Walking through the area it took Noctis nearly a quarter hour to realize why he was so bothered by the silence.

"There's no bugs or birds or anything." He commented, halting whatever conversation his friends were having.

"The water's quite dark. Perhaps the drought caused minerals to concentrate so the water cannot sustain life?" Ignis suggested, looking around them. They studied their surroundings better and saw that the trunks of the trees were cracked. Their branches gnarled and twisted. The veins of their brown leaves traced with the black sap that nourished them. They followed the lines and cracks down to the roots that dug deep into the earth and further to the various small ponds that made up the swamp. "No moss either." He added, knitting his brows as he studied the trunks of the trees and the bare ground, soil eroded to expose the rock beneath.

"We should hurry." Noctis answered. "You guys should head back. No use all of us risking our asses in this creepy place."

"Bullshit. We're not going anywhere." Gladiolus countered.

"Yeah you are, go watch Prompto I'll keep going. I can move faster alone." Noctis answered. Gladiolus scowled, reaching out and grabbing Noctis by the front of his shirt and jerked him closer, pulling up, forcing the Prince to stand on his goes.

"What the hell!"

"Get your head out of your ass! We _all_ want to save Luna!"

"You don't know what they're like!" Noctis growled, teeth clenched together.

"But I do." Aranea snapped. All eyes turned to her. "And I agree with him," she thumbed at Gladiolus "You need to _think_ things through! What can six assholes do against the might of Niflheim if we just charged right on in there. You think a pissed off upper cut is gonna save the day? We all want the Oracle safe. Even a _Nif_." She wrinkled her nose on the final word, locking eyes with the Prince. Noctis bit down on his lip, eyes squinting and his brows came together with deep creases. He let out a long breath, his expression softening. Gladiolus set him back down, keeping a grip on his shirt until he was sure the Prince could stand on his own legs. Noctis flexed his fingers, roughly rubbing the sides of his pants.

"I'm sorry." He sighed, bringing one of his hands up to scratch his scalp. "I just can't stand the thought she's back with them."

"We'll do a better job of getting her back if you calm down enough to think and if we work _together_." Gladiolus insisted with a hesitation in his tone, pausing after the first word to keep the remaining softer. Noctis nodded, and waited for his friends to take the first steps before they resumed their march.

The deeper into the swamp they walked the thicker the place began to feel. The rocky ground was coated in a layer of brown and black leaves. Despite the lack of foliage little sunlight was penetrating through the branches. The silence was replaced with a deep groaning, and the retinue found themselves walking much closer to each other. The air itself felt thick, and the sulfuric smell was fading to be replaced with sickly sweet odor that left a taste on the back of the tongue. A sudden grunt caused Noctis to spin around just as he saw Aranea had impacted the ground.

A gnarled black branch curled around her ankle, and was dragging her up from the ground as she clawed at the rocky ground. Noctis saw flashes of blue as Gladiolus and Ignis called their weapons. His engine blade felt heavy as he called it in a flash of black sparks, the itch in his palms intensifying. All three rushed forward, slashing at the branch that was dragging away their companion but it jerked back with a living fluidity.

"Get me the fuck down!" Aranea screeched. She reached for her own weapon, but with the branch wrapping up around the whole of her leg she couldn't pull her polearm free. She tried to kick with her free foot and cursed at the pain flaring with the impact, and kicked again. Noctis ground his teeth together, and warped forward. He impacted the branch, metal greeting the black branch with a wet squelch. The blade dug deep, and the low pitched groaning changed into an overpowering screech. The sudden motion jerked the sword, embedded into the soft once-wood of the branch, and he fell. He hit the ground before he could think to warp, all air forced from his lungs. He curled on his side, clawing at his chest as he tried to command his lungs to suck in air. His throat burned, his chest ached, and his mind began to fuzz before that first blessed agonizing breath filled his chest and he exhaled it in a grunt, panting and groaning in pain.

It took nearly half a minute for him to realize the odd groaning he was hearing was not the tree, but rather Aranea who had also been dropped and seemed to be in the same shape as him. He tried to sit up, squinting through the wave of pain and dizziness. He turned to ask if she was all right but she was madly gesturing. He followed her hand and saw Ignis and Gladiolus struggling as more branches descended from around them. He tried to scream for them to run, his first attempt halted by pain. Panic helped the words out his second try,

" _Run!"_ He snapped, calling for a flask and thanking the Six when a fira appeared in his hand and he threw it. His friends wasted no time to contemplate his warning, and fled just before flames ignited the ground where the had just stood. They all slapped their hands over their ears as the trees began to scream. Sound blasted through them, hitting them like a physical blow. Noctis squinted, so overwhelmed by sound he wanted to shut out the fading light to ease the burden on his overtaxed brain. He felt a jerk as Gladiolus pulled him up to his feet by the back of the shirt, shoving him forward.

"Run you idiot!" He snapped. Noctis nodded, and began to flee with his friends. He called for his magic again, but felt no fire. He called a second time and thunder answered his call. He shouted a warning to his friends and threw it in the air. Deafening screams surrounded them once more. He squinted through the darkness, sure that he could see grey in the distance.

"There! We're almost there!" He shouted. Black tendrils started drifting down. Ebony vines blown around by a non-existent wind. "Shit shit shit…" Noctis mumbled as he called for his magic and found none. He flexed his fingers, and felt his heart leap into his throat when Engine Blade answered his call. He swung it around him madly, chopping at the branches and vines. Hissing joined the screams and light cast stark shadows from behind the trees but he didn't want to take his eyes off the grey building growing closer to see what hissing daemon was casting the orange glow.

Their sanctuary was in a small clearing, and the branches and vines were reaching for it, lacking by several meters the length necessary to touch the building. The itch in Noctis's palms reached a maddening burning degree, his arms twitching and he could hardly keep running with the desire to twitch his hips. His vision was growing sharper, and he thanked the Six that his eyes seemed to be adjusting so quickly to the dark. He hit the door, screaming as he slammed his palms into it, the doors giving way; all four of them sprinting in with him. Noctis and Gladiolus were the first to spin around, shoving the doors closed behind them. Aranea joined and shoved her polearm through the doors handles, Ignis was bent over with his hands on his knees panting for breath.

"Holy shit. What time is it?" Gladiolus asked.

"My watch says it is only three P.M." Ignis answered. Noctis walked over to his ancestor's tomb, rubbing his palms against the edge of rough stone. He ground his arms against it, grunting with pain and relief. His body trembled, and he bit down on his tongue to keep from turning up his meal onto the floor.

"It's only three?" Noctis asked, hissing and withdrawing his arms to look at them, realizing how badly abrased they were from rubbing them so hard on the stone.

"What the hell is going on?"

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I wanted to play a bit with imagery, I hope it worked?


	41. Butter Knife

Cor tried to sit up in the bed but Lunafreya reached out and pushed against his shoulder until he settled back against the pillows. She cast a cursory glance towards the small desk in the corner where Verstael and Dorcas were talking before turning her attention back to The Immortal. He groaned and shifted uncomfortably, following Lunafreya's gaze and making eye contact when she turned back.

"There is something wrong with that woman." He grumbled.

"What happened here?" She reiterated her previous question to him. He let out another groan, eyes flickering about for a moment before looking back to her.

"Shortly after the Prince and you all left two airships came and raised all kinds of hell. Your brother first said he was looking for you."

"Ravus!" she gasped, cautious to control her tone. Heat rose in her cheeks and fear sent her heart racing as she looked around the room, trying to swallow the sudden dry feeling in her throat down.

"He was trying to talk sense once the base was re-subdued." Cor offered, watching how the Oracle shifted her posture stiffened her shoulders. "But the ships were full of puppets. Gunned everyone down like we were nothing more than ants. Those of us that survived… wished we hadn't" His voice was hoarse and grew even more gravely. His eyes looked up to the desk in the corner, lips pressing together to a thin line as the muscles stood out against his neck. "I must get you out of here My Lady, before that… _woman_ does things to you."

"Verstael would likely have her strapped to one of these beds should harm befall me by her hand." She argued, shaking her head. "But we must fly from here. All of you." Her attention shifted again, looking around at the beds around her. With her light coursing through their blood the once still and moaning figures were shifting in the beds and their moans were louder. One man began to cough, shifting himself up in the bed.

"Lie back down and rest!" Verstael snapped, causing Lunafreya to flinch. She felt a hand wrap around her wrist and gasped, managing not to yelp as she jerked her arm back hard, staring down at Cor and letting out a long breath, bringing her hand up to pinch the bridge of her brow.

"I'm sorry I should not have reached as such." She apologized, dropping her hands and reaching out to cup one of his. "I will find a way to get you out of here."

"Old protector of the royal family, it's _me_ who should be saving you."

"Either case, we need to be free of this place and of their custody."

"Lady Lunafreya." She flinched again, biting down on the tip of her tongue before turning and righting herself, hands folded neatly in her nap.

"Yes?" she asked. She looked past Verstael and saw Dorcas hunched over her desk, nausea rising as she thought of what may happen to those she had just healed. He gestured for her to stand and she did so obediently. He walked past her with another gesture, and she cast one final glance at Cor, who mouthed _We'll get out of here_ at her before settling back against the bed and closing in eyes, whether to sleep or feign so and her eyes burned at the thought of leaving any of them to their fate.

"Is my brother here?" She blurted when she thought of her brother, her mouth acting faster than her brain.

"The High Commander has other duties to attend do, keeping a few sick prisoners in their beds is below his station."

"I understand." she nodded, jaw tightening as she clenched her teeth together and fingers knit tightly enough to flush her knuckles white. Her eyes flickered back up, hope daring to find its way into her heart. A chill ran through her like a winter breeze and she found her pounding heart starting to settle as she felt the comforting presence of the covenant she bore. _Gentiana._ "What are you to have me do for the remainder of this day?" she asked.

"Rest. I can see when you look tired. You get very pale and develop dark circles around your eyes. I want you rested for tomorrow." He explained. She winced and touched the skin below her left eye. The Magitek that had been guarding just outside the door started to follow them, Verstael mumbling and made a gesture towards the airship. Stale wind blew as the door to the airship hissed and the ramp started to descend. She tried to gauge how high the entrance was from the ground but a hard shove against her back jarred her thought process and she resumed following Verstael.

Inside the airship she let out a hard breath of air through her nose, stinging with the sharp smell of bleach, and tried to blink to adjust to the sudden relative darkness. They turned down the hallway with a thick red line painted on all four walls, and she tensed at the thought of being pushed into that small room again. The bleach smell grew stronger and she curled her nose, and tried to breathe through her mouth but the air itself felt like it was burning the inside of her mouth and brought a fresh sting to her eyes. Halfway down the hall there was a Magitek mopping the floor, another one scrubbing at the walls. The sight looked oddly primitive for Verstael, she would have expected some automated process that could scour everything in moments. They walked up to the fourth door and Lunafreya got a better look at the MagiTek that was scrubbing the wall. The cuffs of the uniform were spotted in a sickly yellow color. It dipped its hand into the bucket with an oddly jerky motion and resumed its work, and she took note of the odd dent in its head.

"Rest Lady Lunafreya." Verstael's voice startled her, and she cursed her fleeting attention span. She nodded, stepping into the room and held herself stiff to keep from stumbling. But no push on her back came and she entered the room untouched. The door hissed shut behind her with a dim beep of the lock engaging. She let her limbs slack and her face fell into her palms, biting down hard on her bottom lip, her fingers curling and gripping her loose hair. She tried to focus on her breathing, on the counting. _In out. In out. Feel your heart. Just listen to your body._ She tried to push outside thoughts away. Not to think about the cramped room, the smell of metal and bleach, the rattling humm of the air blowing through the vent above her.

Her head jerked up, eyes widening. She looked up, squinting at the vent. She rushed to the door, closing her eyes and pressing her ear against it. She couldn't hear anything through the thick metal door. She stepped away from it, wondering how long it had been since breakfast. They hadn't eaten lunch at the base and she was sure Verstael would insist on her being well fed to _rest up_ as he instructed, to have her healthy for whatever horrors awaited her tomorrow. She returned to the center of the room, looking up at the vent and squinting. She could see it wasn't welded into the ceiling like the window was, likely for access cleaning. Another spark of hope.

"Gentiana?" she whispered under her breath. The words caused a mist before her mouth, and the chill that rolled down her arms caused her so spin around. The familiar ebony haired woman stood an arm's length away. The floor beneath her feet was coated in a layer of frost that crawled out to coat the end table and the door. The cold presence helped to calm her, and she could feel her heart slowing and the pounding in her ears quieted.

"The Lady feels trapped once more." She observed with a slight nod of her head. "She worries for her Chosen King." _Prince_ a distant voice called, and she recalled cheeky grins at the gangly teenaged Noctis who tried to decalre his title at her with a puffed out chest. She blinked rapidly and the memory quickly faded. She could have nearly smelled the sylleblossums but the cold grew more intense snapping her fully from her reminiscing.

"To save our world I must flee from here." She answered. "I…" her voice caught when she could hear the hoarseness in her voice. Her face scrunched up and she let out a shuttered breath. "I wish to see him once more, to finish this quest. To live out our days together." When she forced her words out she recalled the tolls the covenants were asking of her. The memory of them brought an ache into her joints and fatigue begging her to give up and curl up into the bed to sleep. Her eyes suddenly felt heavy and even breathing felt like an exercise that set her heart racing yet again to work to pump blood like she had spent the morning running. _Will I live out my days?_ Fear gripped her heart with the question.

"The Oracle will stand once more beside the Crystal's Chose." Gentiana assured.

"But how to I flee from here?" she asked, brow coming together and looking around the room. "The window is welded. The door is locked and guarded." she sighed, looking up to study the vent again. She squinted at it. _The vent? How can I get my hands on a screwdriver? Perhaps in Verstael's lab or Dorca's horrid base?_ she pondered. "You have word of Noct?" she asked.

"Your King is among his friends."

"And Regis?" Lunafreya asked in a moment of paranoid fear, unsure of Gentiana was using her usual title for Noctis or if something had caused the title to ring true.

"He is still living." Gentiana answered. She nodded, sighing in relief at this answer.

"Will you bring him word that I am unharmed. And that Cor the Immortal is a captive of Niflheim?" she asked, stepping closer to Gentiana. The woman remained rigidly still, and nodded slowly at her.

"Your words shall find him." She promised.

"Thank you." She smiled, and felt a tightness in her chest. She squinted, feeling the damnable tears sting her cheeks. When she opened her eyes once more she saw she was alone once more. She tried to go back to her attempts to calm herself, and flinched hard when there was a hard knock on the door. She rubbed the heels of her hands hard against her eyes, dropping herself onto the bed before calling out to the door. "You may enter." She called, and winced at the remaining hoarseness in her voice. Nettmann entered, holding a tray of food.

"Your lunch." he explained, walking into her room. She got to her feet, watching him cross the limited space and set the try down on the corner table. "Long morning?" he asked, turning to her.

"Indeed it was." she nodded politely, arms folded neatly in front of her.

"You don't need to act like the perfect little Oracle around me Lunafreya." he suggested. "Might be easier to pass the time here when you have someone to talk to."

"I… Thank you." she answered after a slight pause. "Today though I am quite exhausted. Healing so many cases of advanced Blight leaves me exhausted. I assure you thought, I shall eat." she nodded towards the table. He smiled at her, walking the few paces to face her.

"Can I get you anything else?" he asked. _Tea_. She thought.

"No. Thank you." she answered.

"Ah. Well, I'll let you get some rest. But maybe we can have dinner together? The puppets don't make good company." He murmured to her, tilting his head at the doorway. "Not the most talkative bunch."

"It would be nice to have company." She nodded at him.

"See you tonight then. I'll let you rest." He smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder for a moment, causing a slight flinch from her.

"Sorry. I become a bit… jumpy when exhausted to this extent." She explained quickly. His smile flickered for only a moment, the light crinkle at the corner of his mouth returning quickly. She focused on the smooth skin around his eyes, and waited until the door shut behind him to roll her shoulder and rub it, disliking the phantom of his touch lingering on her skin. _I will stand beside Noct once more. I will not be in this infernal machine_. But _Six_ was she exhausted. She knew she needed more than just sleep, and sat down at the small corner table.

She pulled the lid off the food, and was surprised that it looked and smelled appetizing. Some light stirring with a fork she could confirm that it was a vegetable curry and rice, a small bread roll and pat of butter, a purple citrus she couldn't recall the name of that she had only ever seen in western Niflheim, a bottle of water, and a mug of tea. She wrapped her hands around the small mug of tea, picking it up and enjoying the flowery smell steaming off of it. She took a sip, letting the warmth run down her throat and chase away the chill that still lingered. She forked a sauce coated pice of potato and put it in her mouth, wishing she could resent the meal but it was quite tasty. She took bites of curry with rice, idly moving the food around the plate. She poked the bread the roll, surprised that it was still warm. She picked it up and reached for the knife, idly reaching out to coat it in butter and spread it on the roll. But she set the roll down, then let out an airy laugh, staring at the knife. She studied the tip of it, spinning it in her hand, a second huff escaping her throat in an audible laugh. She jolted up from the chair, nearly knocking it back and strode to the small spot under the humming air vent.

She stared at the screws and realized that she could turn them with the butter knife if she could reach up there. She looked at the table, setting the knife down and tugging the table slightly and laughed again when it moved. _It's not bolted down! It's not bolted down!_ She picked up her tray, striding over to the bed to set it down and then hastily moved the chair out of her way causing it to knock over. She grunted, dragging the table across the room. It squealed horribly against the metallic floor, a sound she could feel inside of her teeth, causing her to run her tongue over them with a wince, biting down on her tongue.

She got the table just off-center below the vent and grabbed the butter knife back from the tray on the bed then climbed atop the table, widening her legs to keep herself steady. She reached up with one arm, wishing she could brace herself against something. Holding the end of the knife she was able to wobble the tip up into the groove of the screw, biting down on her lip trying not to burst into laughter. turning her wrist. The screw remained stubborn for a moment before jerking out of position and she used both hands to rapidly twirl the knife until the first screw fell to the floor. She repeated the same with the remaining ones. Before the last screw fell she held her free hand up to keep the grate from falling on her.

She looked above her, the grate held in her hand and winced at the air blowing in her face. It smelled stale and metallic, dust blowing into the room causing her to cough into the crook of her elbow. She set the grate on the table and reached up to the lip of the vent but quickly realized she wasn't realistically going to pull herself up this way. She climbed down from the table to set the piece of metal onto the floor and picked up the overturned chair. It was heavier than she expected but she was able to get it onto the table, pushed into place with more grinding. She climbed onto the table and gave the chair a test wiggle before carefully climbing onto it. She hoised herself up, able to poke her head into the air vent.

Her heart immediately sank, and her stomach threatened to overturn the meal she had just finished. Her face flushed and she gripped the edge hard. The space was obscenely small, even a child wouldn't fit. It was filled on all four sides with a thick layer of dust and grime. She squinted, trying not to let her disappointment overwhelm her. Her breath hitched, which caused her to sneeze, which in turn forced her to retract out of the vent and cough into the crook of her arm again. Her head jerked up, looking through tear-blurred vision as the door to her room opened.

"Lady Lunafreya?" An incredulous voice asked. "What are you doing up there?" She blinked, and was able to match Nettmann's face to his voice. He walked into the room and looked up, reaching to grab her wrist and jerked her down from her perch on the table. She lost her balance but he pulled her up with the firm grip he had on her wrist, pulling her back up to her feet. "What were you doing."

"The air was blowing a bit cool, I was hoping inside the vent I would be able to adjust something." She answered.

" _Liar._ " he snapped. She saw his body jerk and her cheek exploded in stinging pain. She squinted, licking the pain in her bottom lip and tasted blood. She looked back up at him but he struck her again this time causing her to stagger. She tried to back away, eyeing the doorway behind him. "Shut the door." he commanded when he saw her gaze behind him. "Where do you think you were even going to go from the air vent?" He asked her.

"I was-"

"Enough! Doctor Basithia is trying to end the blight and he needs _you_ to do that! Are you this selfish?"

"I too wish to end the Blight!" She answered. Her vision felt odd and she reached a hand up to the burning half of her face and felt the swelling forming around her eye.

"Oh right, that covenant stuff with a special King?" He asked, tongue slathered with mockery. She was walking backwards until the table in the center of the small room separated her from Nettmann. Her heart was racing, throbbing in her face. A dampness had her reaching up to find more blood under her nose, rubbing her thumb over her slicked fingers.

"My first duty is to the people of Eos. I cannot purge the Blight from our star trapped in an airship being toted around! You must allow me to return, we are forming covenants, the Six are joining us, it is the only way!" She simplified, brows knit together as she pleaded for him to hear reason.

"Trapped? We provided clean clothes, hot meals, I even made sure you had your precious books!" His voice was low and gravely, tension flushing his face red and the muscles of his neck to stand out. He bent over, slamming both hands on the table to lean over, causing her to flinch. "You've always been spoiled. Especially whenever that mouthy Prince would come visit. You belong _here_. _We_ can fix the Blight. Not fairy tales." He insisted.

"No." She stated simply, and forced herself to stand tall.

"I can see your hands trembling." He stated. She tried to make herself expressionless but felt the ache in her jaw betraying her, the tremor reaching from her fingertips to her shoulders. "Well come with me, we need to report this little escape attempt to Doctor Basithia." He hoised himself onto the table and hopped down at the other side, following Lunafreya's backstep to reach out and grab her by the shoulder, digging his fingertips deep into her skin until she flinched and took in a hiss of air. "Move." She nodded, stepping away from the wall. He gave her shoulder a tighter squeeze to shove her in the direction of the door, following her closely enough she could hear him breathing. He barked an order and the door opened.

Lunafreya looked up at the Magitek guarding her room, then glanced around for the others but the hallway was otherwise empty. She was shoved again with another bark of _move!_ from behind her and was led through until she was in the hallway with the series of Vs on the floor. They stopped at the entrance to Verstael's office, Nettmann tapping in the code 173205080. The door hissed open and the Niflheim doctor jerked up from his desk, turning to stare at the door with a deep frown creasing the sides of his mouth and brow.

"Why are you interrupting my work?" he asked. There was a plate with a sandwich with a few bites taken out of it, the plate holding down a pile of papers while Verstael was busy overlooking the open notebook on his desk. Blue light reflected off his face from the computer monitor displaying a series of tables and pictures she couldn't quite make out from the doorway.

"Our beloved Oracle it seems thought she could escape through the air vents."

"The air vents? They're less than a square meter." Verstael mumbled. "Did she fall trying to climb up one?" he asked, gesturing at Lunafreya's face. She glanced down and saw that the blood from her nose was now soaking the front of her shirt, her mouth was filled with the metallic taste. She now noticed that she had no peripheral vision on her left, sure that the eye swelling shut was responsible for this and the partial blur.

"Just reminding her how to behave." he answered.

"Ah. Well then. Follow me." Verstael placed his hands on his knees and stood up with a grunt, dusting off the seat of his pants. He crossed the room, gesturing at a Magitek. Nettmann dug his fingertips into Lunafreya's already aching right shoulder to tug her backwards at the man's approach She squinted slightly to better make out Verstael's face, sure she saw a slight scowl. The door to his office opened and they exited it. They walked through the hall of the dashes with a red line above and below them until they were in the hall three lines. They stopped at the door, and Lunafreya furrowed her brows wondering if they were heading back to the base now that she'd eaten for further healing. She watched Verstael type in the nine-digit code and the door opened.

The sudden wind caused her to stagger back, looking out to the dim gray sky. Nettmann approached Verstael who was standing by the door and gesturing for him to come closer. He stood next to the man and looked down over the base, the pair of men standing in silence for a moment before Verstael's hand came up behind Nettmann, gripping his shoulder. He squeezed. Then pushed.

Nettmann vanished too quickly to scream. The wind covered whatever noise he made. Lunafreya staggered back until her back met the metallic wall. Verstael tapped a code into the door panel and the machine began to hum and hiss as the ramp retracted and the door closed. He curled his lip as he brushed his hands on his pants, heaving a heavy sigh.

"I lack the time for these… interruptions." He walked up to her, looking alternately at each eye, her nose. She sniffed, a thick wet sound and almost gagged as she swallowed the mouthful of blood. She licked her stinging lip which only made the burning worse. Having him so close to her forced her to control her breathing, suddenly self conscious of how terrible her breath must smell. "I'll have some stuff sent to your room." He drew back and looked up at one of the Magitek, "Take her to the bathroom to wash up then back to her room." he directed. Lunafreya couldn't tell if the jerky motion of the machine was a nod or not.

She looked back at the sealed door, eyes flickering to either side. She shifted her weight, tilting her head and eyeing Verstael from the corner of her vision as he started to stalk up the hall. She felt a firm push in the middle of her upper back and moved, stumbling before she found her footing and kept pace with her now two escorts.

Two blood soaked face cloths were drying in a basin on the bed's end table as well as two spent chemically activated ice packs. The two tablets of pain killer were still sitting in the small bottle given to her, as well as the untouched cup of water. The blood stained uniform shirt was foled neatly on the floor and she had a fresh one one, just as large as the first. She was holding a third ice pack wrapped in a pillow case against her face, with a pile more at the end of her bed. She was lying on her back staring up at the ceiling, glouring at the uncovered vent in her ceiling. She tried to shake the image out of her head of Nettmann simply vanishing.

As the shock wore off, and the fact that that man was finally dead struck her, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel. She felt relieved that he would never haunt the halls around her again. Fearful that Verstael could kill a man in cold blood. She remembered the Blight-afflicted hunters of the base, and his objectivity. A fresh wave of throbbing was returning to her face as the cold pack wore off, and she again felt relief that she would never fear this again. Anger that she never stood up for herself. Never spoke up. Never struck him back. And again the relief. Then guilt. Had she never climbed that table in some stupid dizzy dream of escaping through an air vent as if life was some movie, then he never would have struck her and subsequently been ruthlessly executed. _Could he so easily murder my brother should he cross him?_

She thought now of her brother. He walked such a tightrope. His hatred for her beloved Noctis firmly rooted from that awful day fire rained down and they lost their mother. Left behind by the Lucians whose hands were forced by circumstance. What she wouldn't do to be able to sit and talk with him. Why had she never told her brother about what Nettmann had done to her? Perhaps if Ravus had beat the man senseless he never would have dared lift a finger to her again. And a strong pang of loneliness began to overwhelm the rest of her battling emotions.

She groaned, turning up onto her side and stared at the door, placing the cold pack in the basin. She licked her lip, quickly becoming a habit due to the annoying stinging in it, the split finally scabbing over as she poked it with her tongue like a child with a loose tooth. The room felt too quiet, in spite of the humming air and the buzzing lights. She found this desire for companionship odd. She was so adjusted to spending so many weeks alone, why was two days so difficult? She was used to guards outside her door, carted from place to place to heal or perform other stately duties.

 _Guards_. She knit her brows and sat up. When returned to her room she was brought by only one MagiTek. Her eyes dropped as she thought and got to her feet. She walked to the door, pounding hard on it. She grimaced, shaking her hand.

"Hello? I… Excuse me but I must use the facilities." she called through it. There was only a short pause before the door opened and she saw the sole machine. She was led to the room where she showered and entered. She went to the bathroom, and spent several minutes splashing water at her face and trying to scrub dried blood off her fingernails, rubbing her thumb roughly under her nose to try and clean her skin. She gripped the edge of the sink, sighing and rolling her shoulders. Her whole body ached, the throbbing in her face even worse than the initial blow. She could see in the mirror her left eye was swollen shut. Bruising covered the entirely of her eye, her nose, half her cheek. She touched the tender tissue and withdrew her fingers with a wince, her skin felt like a bad sunburn. She righted herself, working up the courage to return to her room.

Once back, her lone escort resumed his post outside her door and her brain started to swarm with ideas. She sat down on the edge of the bed, debating the pain killers but again decided against it. _Just one._ She confirmed, glancing at the door. She moved her table back to the corner to give herself a small amount of clear space in the center, and held out her left hand. Her trident appeared with blue sparks. She delved deep within her, pleading for help. Her hand grew cold, the metal of the trident almost painful to grip. Delicate ice crystals formed along the shaft, starting at her fist. She nodded, letting go of the trident and letting it vanish. She sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed. _How can I get out of here if we're hovering in the sky?_ She pondered.

She debated waiting until they landed. But they were on the ground only so she could be pulled to the base. If she escaped while on the ground they could catch her almost immediately. She drummed her fingers against the outside of her thigh. She glanced at her bed, reaching down to tug at the material of the bedding. She walked over to the window and looked out, frowning when she realized they must be ten meters in the air. The bed sheets would never form a makeshift rope long enough. She sat down on the bed, reaching for one of the unbroken ice packs. She squeezed it between the heels of her hands, wrapping it in the pillowcase and pressed against her face to cover the bridge of her nose and her throbbing eye.

She thought again about a nighttime escape, getting away while the airship is in the sky and no one is likely to look for her for hours to come. She remembered the fight between Ravus and Noctis, and the shields she put around them. They had hammered the shields but couldn't break through. She looked down at her palm, wondering if she could simply cast a shield around herself. Then shook her head, letting out a frustrated grunt. _From this height I'll still kill myself that way doesn't matter if I'm in a sheild if I hit the ground at those speeds._ THen her brow knit together. She looked up, at the various dust particles floating around the air. She held out her hand, and a small bubble appeared around the dust particles. She dropped the shield and tried to rapidly bring one up around another particle. Vanish. Repeat. She let out an excited chuckle, getting to her feet. She wondered if one could break her fall.

She climbed atop the table, focusing on some dust on the floor and brought up a shield. She dove off the table to tackle the shield. She impacted it with a hard grunt, and it vanished, causing her to hit the floor. She was able to bring an arm before her quickly enough to keep from landing face-first, but the metal floor hurt nonetheless. She got onto her hands and knees, panting away the discomfort before getting herself to stand up again. _Okay okay. You can land on a shield and you can cast them rapidly. Hopefully rapidly enough not to die_. She thought. She wondered if she should take another practice dive but figured this wasn't something practicing in a small room would help. She couldn't stay with the empire again. She couldn't be Verstael's tool. Or worse, be returned to Caligo. _I will no longer be a prisoner_. She sat on her bed, passing the hours by shielding dust particles. She eventually started to feel fatigued, the pain getting to her after the last ice pack was expended. She settled for lying in bed reading a book, not finishing the one she had started previously hearing Nettmann's voice ringing in her head that he had specifically picked it out for her.

Dinner was delivered to her room, and it helped to re-orient herself to the time. On her tray was two more pain killers, and in the MagiTek's other hand was another pillowcase full of ice packs. She ate her meal, wanting to build up whatever strength she could by finishing every bite. She put the two new pills with the others, staring at it for a minute before shoving them in her pocket. She broke an ice pack, pressing it to her eye and sat on the bed again with the hatch to her window open to wait until nightfall, trying to read her book, having to re-read more paragraphs as the night progressed. Once the daylight faded she was left with only the buzzing red lights and decided it was time to move.

She got up, crossed the room to look out the window once more. She stared through the bars for several moments before she decided she would never be able to gauge the exact distance to the ground. She tossed the last ice pack onto the bed, pat her pocket to check for the bottle with four pain killers, and took deep breaths. Her heart was racing, chest heaving as her breathing tried to catch up to hear pulse. She started counting the seconds in, the seconds out. She crossed the small room and rapped on the door,

"I must use the restroom." She called through. The door slid open, she called her trident and gripping it with bolds hands thrust up, two of the three prongs piercing under the MagiTek's jaw. She met almost immediate resistance but pushed, earning sparks and sharp electrical jolt on both her arms. She dropped her trident and it vanished in the same blue sparks that made it appear. Both her arms felt numb with a burning tingle throughout her fingers. Her heart was racing ever faster, wide eyes staring at the jerking machine that sparked for a few more seconds before the red illumination in its eyes faded and it clattered to the ground. She winced at the sound, panting and staring at the crumpled machine.

She got herself to her feet, trembling in her whole body. _Go. Go._ She took a staggered step, then another, but was able to get her shaking legs to break into a sprint. One thick red line was painted on the wall, and several meters further down she turned left turned sharply, studying the paint patterns. She squinted down, fearful she would run into MagiTek doing their jobs. She glanced over her shoulder, recalling how loudly the one she destroyed sounded. _Dashes surrounded by red lines_ she remarked to herself as she turned again. She ran down the hall and made another turn into the hallway when she recognized the pattern of three red lines.

She looked back over her shoulder again, then ahead. She tried to listen for the sounds of boots on the metallic floor. Of heavy breathing from someone chasing her. But all she heard was her own ragged breaths, her racing heart pounding in her ears and the left side of her face. The numbness in her hands was starting to turn into an intense burning ache. _Please. Please don't interrupt my light._ She pleaded. She felt a new sting and brought one hand in front of her face, and let out a hard breath when she saw the ice crystals crawling over her skin. She nearly stumbled over her feet when she reached the panel on the wall. She looked to either side again, brows knit that they were still empty and let out a silent laugh. She braced herself against the wall with one arm, the other tapping at the keypad,

"One-seventy-three, two-oh-five, oh-eight-oh," she recited as she typed the corresponding numbers. The door hissed and opened with a groan. She stepped back as the wind almost threw her off balance. She squinted against the breeze, letting the ramp extend to get her just that much closer to the ground. She looked behind her again, breath catching and stepped onto the ramp. She fell to her hands and knees, the ramp shuddering and rocking without the stable ground beneath it. She crawled on her hands and knees to the edge and looked down. The fall was ten meters, and she hoped that her shields would break her fall. She took in one long breath, letting it out slowly. She reached out with her left hand, and a small sphere appeared. She let it vanish and tried to survey the ground below to no avail.

She reached out again and a sphere appeared and she took in a deep breath, thinking of the rest she could get once she was finished. The hot meal she could share with friends, fresh coffee, and warm arms welcoming her home. Her chest ached when she thought of Noctis and forced her mind back on track. She let herself slide off of the ramp onto the first shield. She hit the rounded surface and grunted, sliding off of it and threw out another shield while she tried to reorient herself with the direction of down. She hit it with another grunt. Another shield, another confusing roll. Then a third. A forth. She threw her arm out for a fifth, utterly dizzy, and impacted it on her side. She tried to throw out another one, and when she tried to throw a seventh she couldn't find anything to anchor it to and the rushing ground met her instead.

White hot pain flared in her left arm and her left side. Her old injury instantly flared back to life. She tried to gasp for breath, and tried to gather her scattered foggy thoughts into coherence. She curled in on herself, bringing her arm close to her and hissed with the fresh hot pain movement caused. The air had been forced from her lungs and took several agonizing seconds to find its way back in. She rolled onto her knees. holding herself up with her right arm, panting to try and catch her breath much to the protest of her ribs. She whimpered, squinting and trying to collect herself. She looked up, the airship still hovering overhead. _Get up get up get up._ she tried to urge herself. But pain was overwhelming her senses. She tested shifting her weight to her knees, her legs trembling and her joints protested with electric jolts.

She managed to sit back, groaning and biting down on her lip, agitating the tender scab. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the cracked bottle. She used her teeth to pull it open, shaking it until a pair of pills landed on her tongue and she swallowed them and shoved the broken container back in her pocket. She sank onto her back, eyes staring up at the sky. The airship didn't move. There were no alarms coming from it. No flashing lights. She wondered if her absence was noticed yet. If the broken MagiTek had been found. _How long do I have?_ she wondered. She laid there, panting for breath trying to convince her body to move, to push the pain to the back of her mind. How much time she wasted she wasn't able to tell. But she was able to get herself onto her feet.

She looked at the base, at the uniform buildings. _Cor_. Her brow came together, pulling on the swollen tissues of her face making her wince. She shifted her stance, her mind racing, trying to think of a plan. The room with Cor and the others wouldn't be guarded by just one machine. There would be Dorcas to contend with. She would alert Verstael, he would land.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. She turned, unable to avoid the thought that she might stumble across Nettmann's corpse. She shut her eyes, trying to urge herself to _move_. "I'm so sorry." She repeated in a rasp. She stumbled the first several steps but found her balance. She found a way to breathe to minimize the pain in her chest, and she hugged her injured arm against her to prevent jostling. She stopped when she had run a half kilometer from the base, knitting her brows and looking around her. She could hear hissing and grunting, fear once again gripping her heart. She struggled to see in the darkness, but could make out the lumbering form of an iron giant stalking around a few meters away from the road with three bombs around it. It seemed the bombs were aware of her presence, hissing from the distance. She called her trident, frozen where she stood eyeing the troop of daemons. But as several seconds passed they made no move to approach her. She started stepping down the road and the bombs hissed, but remained close to their iron giant who seemed to be doing everything it could to avoid her.

"What?" she whispered, then whimpered and winced with a sharp jolt in her ribs echoed by her arm. She regretted not chewing the pills to make them kick in faster but was just grateful she had the foresight to stuff them in her pocket. The pain in her face was less intense with this new pain, and by the _Six_ did she just want to curl onto the grass and let the blackness claim her. She moved on, looking at the troop of daemons. They seemed to follow her, but maintained a distance. She looked to her left and saw another group doing the same. Her hand felt cold and she saw the ice building all along her trident. She used the heavy weapon as a walking stick, feeling reassured by the ice on its surface.

The ice was cold, but didn't burn her skin. She wasn't sure why the daemons avoided her, and a thought struck her. She had never been harassed by a daemon, unless in the presence of others. Were they more afraid of her light than they were attracted to her blood? Did the parasite poisoning her world understand on some level the danger she posed to it? _You are meant to save this star. Get back to Noctis._ She urged herself on, spurred by this newfound confidence. She staggered, forcing her feet forward. She sang to herself, songs her mother would once sing to her as a child. She walked. For how many kilometers she didn't know. But soon lights appeared in the distance. As she arrived at them, she was tailed by four groups of daemons who were hissing and pacing restlessly with her slow pace.

"Help!" she called out, grunting and gasping with the pain of effort. "Please!" She tried to muster the strength and will power to call out again. With rest so close in sight she tried to pick up the pace, but the ache in her leg grew too much. She slowed, limping. Her trident vanished from her hand and the hissing grew louder. She stumbled towards the lights, now hearing voices. She fell to her hands and knees, crying out for help once more.

"There's someone out here! Come on!" a voice called. She laughed, someone was coming to help. She could send them back to get Cor. The others. They could get her to Noctis. People ran out from the base, the sound of a generator grew louder and bright floodlights illuminated everything around her. The daemons that followed her squealed and hissed. The intense boom of gunshots filled the night, setting her ears ringing almost immediately. She saw flares fired off, exploding into bright colors causing the creatures to contract and scream. Arms wrapped around her, incoherent shouting interspersed with the sounds of gunfire, flares, the generator.

She was rushed back to the small base, shouting all around her. Pain took over her body with every jostle, every bump. She thought she heard the person holding her try and reassure her. They entered a small building, abruptly cutting down the volume of noise outside. More startled shouts replaced the quiet, and she grunted as she was set down on a low cot. It creaked with her weight, and she let out a relieved breath at being placed on a still surface.

"L-lady Lunafreya?!" a woman asked incredulously.

"Yes…" Lunafreya answered.

"Shit what happened to you? We need to get help!" said woman answered.

"The only medic in the region was murdered by the fuckin' Nifs! The closest person is hours away!" the man who carried her argued.

"There has to be at least _someone_ with basic medical knowledge!"

"I just need rest." she countered, not wanting them to fuss over her. The mention of the medic made her nauseous as guilt gripped her heart. She couldn't ask them for help. Surely Niflheim would be looking for her.

"You need help." the woman immediately argued. "I'll take her north, we have a base up there with better medical supplies and pretty sure Dana is a nurse."

"I'll go with you there's those freaky daemons out." a third voice came in.

"They were avoiding her, it was weird." The man who carried her explained.

"Should we wait until morning? We don't stand a chance." The woman asked

"Look at her man, she needs help." the third voice argued. "Besides, we got those daemon-repelling lights installed. If we haul ass its' only a half-hour trip. Is that okay with you My Lady?"

"I wish not to be a burden, I merely need rest."

"Please, let us help you. My name is Jacob, this is Felicity, that's Randall." She was too exhausted to argue. She wanted to just sleep. Just sleep. "Me and Randall will take you north. I have to pick you up. Randall, go get the car started." Jacob ordered.

"Right." Randall answered. She was picked up, pain flaring in her body and she tried to control her breathing but it came in shuddered gasps and whines. She was rushed to a pickup truck, Felicity following behind them. The woman laid out a sleeping bag on the back of the truck, and Jacob laid her down onto it.

"I'm sorry the ride is gonna suck but we need to get you help." Jacob said. She was laid down on the sleeping bag, and the truck rocked a bit. "Felicity, hold the fort, and cover our backs." He asked. The truck rocked as Jacob jumped down, then rocked again as he climbed into the passenger seat of the pickup. They pulled back and onto the road, turning away from the base in a fury of lights and gunfire.

The sound died away as they pulled away from the base, and only the pain in her ribs and arm kept Lunafreya from succumbing to sleep. Her whole body ached with fatigue. She stared up at the stars, wondering to herself how clear the sky was tonight. Over the wind of the truck riding up the road she could make out the two men talking to each other through the broken window separating the bed from the cabin.

"So Dana knows a Nif?" Randall asked.

"Yeah."

"You sure about this man? I mean, it's the Oracle…"

"Did you see how big the bounty was on her? That could buy us food for a year! We've been living off canned food for a week, all the shit growing around us is black and dead. How much longer you think we can survive off a fistful of gil a week?" Jacob asked. "We'll talk to Dana. She can get in touch with whatever Nif she knows. Even splitting the reward money three ways we'll be set!"

 _No! No!_ she tried to scream, but the breath alone caused her to turn in on herself and cough, her good hand pressing hard against her ribs to protect herself from the pain, lost in a fight of coughing and overwhelming pain.

"The Nifs probably have better medicine than we do anyway… she always sounded okay on the radio and in pictures." Randall sounded hesitant. _Don't send me back! I didn't go through all this just to go back! Please!_ Tears burned her eyes, her heart racing. _Please._

* * *

So I have been peppering with hints for how this chapter goes. The callback to Nettmann, constantly mentioning the paint patterns and door codes. I'm just curious if any of that actually worked? Did you like the reinclusion of Nettmann and how he met his end (ie neither Luna nor Noct get a hand in any form of revenge)


	42. Black and White

I had intended for this chapter to be significantly longer and get through specific events but it's 1am, I am tired. I do hope you accept this half chapter!

* * *

"Well what the hell do we do now?" Gladiolus asked, taking stock of the small tomb. Noctis was leaning over the carving of his ancestor. Ignis was kneeling down in the corner looking at Aranea's ankle, said woman peeling off her boot to look at the limb grabbed by one of the blighted branch.

Noctis curled his fingers, gripping the stone edge of the sarcophagus trying to catch his breath. His friend's voice sounded low and distorted, a warble making discerning his words difficult. He squinted, the distortion making him dizzy.

"Stuck here until daylight I guess." Aranea suggested, voice trailing off at the end. "Umm… hey, Princey, you okay over there?" she asked. The others looked at him, and Noctis tried to right himself and focus on their situation. His chest felt heavier than usual, and the itch in his palms was even more intense.

The Star of the Rogue had felt like very summoning of his ancestor's weapons. He felt a magnetic-like tug when he reached over his ancestor's stone likeness, but when it appeared above the ethereal blue weapon was streaked with black, and when it impacted his chest the pain lingered and tried to pull him to the ground as it faded into an intense heaviness. His limbs felt slow, and the pounding of his heart in his ears felt eerily slow. The air smelled metallic to him, but he sensed that he would be the only one to notice.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. I don't think waiting until daylight will work, it wasn't even dusk when shit went down." Noctis answered her. But _Six_ did he want to simply lie down and sleep until morning. The heaviness began to fade, but as it left malaise started to settle into his body. He rubbed his face with a groan, trying to clear the fog in his brain. He could hear Ignis trying to come up with an idea, Gladiolus countering it. "I think we have to just make a break for it."

"A break for it? We hardly made it _into_ this place!" Aranea gestured at the door, eyes wide, extended arm locked stiff.

"Can you even run with this leg?" Ignis asked. A look at her ankle showed bands of red and blistered skin, edges of already popped blisters grey and the exposed flesh oozing yellow-orange fluid.

"I think its just the skin. I ran _here_ okay." she shrugged. "But I think run now, run in the morning, we're pretty screwed either way."

"Everything didn't happen the moment we arrived so time of day did indeed matter." Ignis answered, his slow speech betraying how hard he was trying to keep his tone level.

"We can't just sit here." Noctis countered.

"I agree, we can't just sit here with our thumbs up our asses. There has to be a way out of here." Gladiolus stated, starting to pace the small room. Noctis wanted to just burst out of the tomb, eyes flickering around as he tried to determine if the room was smaller than when they first entered it. The stone walls were old, and in the corner a black vine seemed to have found a gap in the mortar. He followed it and saw it reached the edge of the actual resting place of his ancestor.

"Noct!" he jerked, looking up at Gladiolus. "You all right?" he asked, grabbing the Prince's shoulder hard. Noctis nodded, bringing a hand up to run through his hair.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm okay just…"

"Distracted? I can see that. We need you to focus! We have no chance of getting the hell out of here in one piece if your brain is orbiting a different star."

"We're making a break for it?" Noctis asked.

"You weren't paying any attention? Shit, this is like highschool again. Maybe I do need to kick your ass with some sparring once we get out of this shit show." he grumbled. Noctis looked at the tomb, distracted for a moment by the itching in his palms. He wanted to call his Engine blade, wondering if the cold metal would ease this damnable pruitis.

"Armiger." Noctis stated, jerking his head up to look at Gladiolus. "I can clear a path out of here with Armiger. I think once I hack the trees with it they won't reach back down right away."

"Will that work? Also… what's Armiger?" Aranea asked, and Noctis nearly demonstrated but Ignis had cut him off,

"It's the name of the ability Noctis has to summon his ancestor's weapons. You've seen him use it at times." Ignis explained.

"Oh the freaky tornado thing? Didn't know it had a name." She responded, and shrugged with a slight shake of her head. "Well if it gets us back to the car so we can gun it the hell out of here I say fire it up!" she gestured towards the tomb's door.

"Let's go." Noctis mumbled. He was through the door, glad there was no further debate behind him. Outside, he looked around at the trees reaching towards the tomb with their black tentacle-like branches, waving in unnaturally fluid movements. He could easily identify the path they had taken here with the damaged trees, limp branches brushing against the ground quivering and fractured. He looked behind him, stepping ahead until he was satisfied with the distance between him and his friends and finally answered that damnable itch.

His weapons appeared, spinning around him in black and blue blurs. He rushed forward and hit the first trees that reached down for him. The low hissing turned into high-pitched screams and the air itself felt like it shook. The orange lights hiding amongst the trees went dim as he rushed forward, fingers flexing and gripping the air, his weapons obeying his desires as he swung an empty hand to see a weapon arc at the blackness reaching for him. His toes hardly touched the ground as he moved forward, black water splashing up against his pants. He glanced behind him, seeing the path they had torn through the trees. With a wince he saw that it wasn't water that had been splashing up against him when his feet touched the ground. Broken branches lay strewn across the ground, the wailing trees flailed the damaged stumps of their branches spraying a dark liquid through the air.

His friends were charging through the semi-cleared path that he had created, and turned back ahead of him. The woods seemed darker than when they arrived, and the once vanished orange glows grew brighter as they reappeared. He rushed onward, unable to risk the trees' recovery to fight the bombs making their new home in the daytime of Myrlwood. _How the hell are they out during the day?_ He flew forward, already a deep ache pouring into his limbs. His blood felt as if it was liquid metal. Burning through his body and weighing him down. He staggered, Armiger flickering for a moment before growing steady again. His eyes ached, feeling dry and windburnt. The trees thinned as they moved away from the tomb, but he couldn't make out the Regalia.

"Prompto! Crowe!" he called out, wondering if he was charging in the wrong direction. A few more meters forward and Armiger flickered again. He looked around, the trees felt distant enough that he let himself crash into the ground. He landed in a thick puddle, spitting bitter liquid when it splashed up into his face. The trees around him quivered and hissed, long liquid branches reaching for him just out of reach. The ache and heaviness lifted as his weapons vanished, and the itch returned to his palms and climbed up his arms. He groaned, and heard wet footsteps charging behind him.

"Noct! You okay?" He heard Gladiolus's gruff voice.

"I couldn't hold it any longer." Noctis apologized, shading his head and tried to lift himself up. A strong arm wrapped around his back and lifted him to his feet. He let himself lean against his Shield before trying to stand unsupported.

"You okay man?"

"Yeah. Everyone?" he turned to the others.

"Yeah we made it through, thanks to you. Though got a nice shower in… whatever that stuff was. It's sticky like tree sap. I'll scrub my skin until I rub it off once we get to a shower." Aranea grimaced. She had pulled off an overshirt so she was only wearing her sports bra and was busy trying to wipe off the sticky ebony liquid off of her.

"It doesn't smell like anything." Noctis observed, realizing that he too was coated in the stuff.

"Is your nose broken? It smells like burnt metal!" Aranea retorted. Noctis frowned, bringing his fingers to his nose and sniffed, and shook his head again.

"Is… is that the Regalia?" Ignis asked, his voice catching in his throat, arm extended and pointing past Gladiolus and Noctis. They all turned to see what he was gesturing at, and saw a vine-coated dome. It took a moment to realize that the dome was not made of stone, but was the car itself. The vines that had wound around the fencing of the parking area had expanded rapidly and coated the car.

"Prompto! Crowe!" There was a series of calls for the names of their companions, but there was no sign of them. They looked on the ground but saw no human-sized lumps. There was no cry back, no screaming. No sign of their friends.

"Shit! Where are they?" Noctis asked, answered with wide terrified eyes.

Lunafreya's head was throbbing in tune with the pain in her arm, her ribs. The entirety of her body was sore and heavy. The road was bumpy, and she looked up into the clear sky. She wanted to find comfort in the brilliant stars above her head, but the words of the men in the pickup's cabin were echoing through her mind. She turned her arm over and tried to make a shield appear around some dust above her head, but with the speed of the moving car had trouble maintaining her target. Or perhaps it was the intense fatigue. The thought of trying to jump from the moving truck was shoved aside. Even if she managed not to kill herself, surely her captors would figure out quite quickly what she had done, and she would never outrun two healthy hunters in her condition.

She endured the drive, constantly debating the risk of jumping from the car. When they passed by a creek she wondered if she could swim. Stopped for an intersection the thought about rolling into a ditch. Each flighty thought shoved away as soon as it arose. She shivered, though the night air didn't feel particularly cold. Her body felt like it was constantly switching between her fight-or-flight response, and the loud bellowing call of sleep. She gripped the small blanket that had been draped over her for this ride, blinking away tears.

 _You can't escape the car. But perhaps you can escape the base. Or from the Nifleheimer who comes to recollect you. You are not going back. You are not going back._ She tried to reassure herself. She thought of scenarios. Of leaping from an airship again. Perhaps she could concentrate all her energy, all her prayers to Shiva, into creating a shield that could last without her direct focus to trap her potential captor and run. A hard jolt in the car caused her to help and hiss, an arm wrapping around herself to grip the reawakened agony in her arm and ribs.

"Shit, be more careful" Jacob snapped. There was some creaking as he turned in his seat, leaning out the opened window separating the cabin and the truck bed. "You okay? Got some store-bought pain killers in the glove compartment." He frowned at her, brows knit closely together. She met his eyes, her own brow furrowed.

"No." she answered, and took a deep inhale and exhale as the initial shock of pain wore away into a lasting sharp heat.

"Almost there. Then you can get some proper rest… Dana knows what she's doin', she'll set you straight." he tried to assure her, but when no ease found its way into her expression he settled back into the passenger seat of his car with another creak. The rest of the ride was a continuous cycle of the previous; the occasional bump making her vision go white with pain, dull conversation between Jacob and Randall that she decided she was too tired to try and eavesdrop on, the smell of wood fires as they drove past small encampments. The smell had her thinking back to the friendly banter of sitting around a fire in a haven, a warm plate of food on her lap and coffee in her mug. Noctis's voice beside her, the occasional brush of his fingertips against her hand. She bit her lip, tears stinging her eyes. But her attention was jolted back when the car slammed to a stop with a lot of cursing. She was tossed in the truck's bed, impacting the back and momentarily her vision went white and coherency blurred away.

When she returned to awareness both men climbed out of the trucks cabin and were climbing up into the bed in the back of the truck with her, one crouched next to her the other holding a rifle up and muttering something to the one next to her in a rapid quivering voice.

"What?" she murmured, sick of lying down and being treated like a rag doll, sitting up despite the pressure on her good shoulder trying to push her back down.

"Shh!" The standing man hissed, and she realized it was Jacob.

"Iron Giant." Randall whispered to her, tilting his head in the direction they had been driving in.

"What to do… can the car handle driving off the road? Go around the jerk?" Jacob asked, turning to look at his companion.

"You think this shitbox can handle driving on dirt? These tires are smooth as a baby's ass, surprised they haven't gone flat from a fleck of sand." Randal complained, looking around for any further signs of daemon activity.

"There's usually bombs with Iron Giants." Lunafreya added. The trio paused, all falling back in the bed of the truck as it rattled with a sudden hard shaking with a loud humm in the air changing into a low-pitched rumble. The shaking lasted only fifteen seconds, and the noise had all three trying to get back up and find the Iron Giant that would have surely been attracted to the noise caused by the rattling truck. Lunafreya felt thick dread settling into her chest as she wondered if the old vehicle could even still drive after such a shake, but made a mental note to think about the brief earthquake later. The air remained thick with sound, but not enough to protect them from the daemon's attention.

"I'm gonna shoot it." Jacob insisted, bringing the rifle up to aim.

"What? No!" Randall barked, and the daemon bellowed. Lunafreya and Randall slapped their hands over their ears, startled by the shout. Their hands hardly muffled the sound of the rifle as Jacob fired it. The daemon wailed again, and brought it's two-meter long blade down in an arc, burying a quarter of its length into the pavement.

"I think you just pissed it off!" Randall snapped. In the darkness it was difficult to tell where they came from, but seemingly from thin air two bombs emerged and swelled, trembling and hissing in answer to the cry of the iron giant. Lunafreya's face blanched, eyes flickering from the giant to the rifle in Jacob's hand. He pulled the trigger again, and fiddled with a ball-tipped L-shaped handle on the gun before firing a third shot.

"Randy, get my bullets from the glove box! I'm down to my last shot!" Jacob snapped. The Iron Giant brought its enormous wedge of metal up from the ground, sending specks of asphalt towards the car hitting the hood with small plinks. It side-stepped then turned to get away from the truck's headlights and onto the side of the road, swinging its blade, the tip less than a meter from tearing into the vehicle. Jacob was trying to steady his gun, Randall was halfway inside the truck's cabin with his legs still poking through the window separating the two sections as he tried to tear through the piles of maps, store receipts, spare socks and gloves, tools, to find the requested box of bullets.

"Why do you keep so much shit in here!"

"My fuckin' bullets!"

"I can't find them with all the damn junk!" Jacob cursed, the gun clicked, and the final shot was fired. The Iron Giant bellowed again, staggering back from a bloom of black in the side of its head, adding to the three in its chest. It raised its blade, and Lunafreya threw her hands up. Her shield lit up in its distinct pentagons, and she cried out in pain as she felt the shock of the blade through her fractured arm, forcing her to draw it against her chest, breath hitching as she tried to collect herself. She let out several hard breaths, watching the bombs that accompanied the giant start to inflate. She brought up her good arm the other one still curled around herself, and the shield flickered back to life. She felt the intense heat of the explosion, pain roaring across her skin and she let out another cry, but kept her trembling arm in place, eyes squinted tight against the bright light of the bombs' explosions. She looked into the cabin where Randall was drawing his legs full inside.

"Drive!"

Noctis had to drop his Armiger to approach the Regalia without damaging the car. He was still looking around for signs of his friends. He looked up into the trees, their thick black branches reaching and trembling made discerning anything difficult. He called for them again, the trees hissed in answer. He could see more distant glowing and turned around to see all the bombs that they had run past were now converging behind them. He cursed, gritting his teeth together. His three companions drew close to him now that he dropped the whirlwind of weapons, mimicking Noctis's dancing movements as they also tried to find any sign of the missing two.

"Maybe they're in the car." Aranea suggested, the other three quick to agree with her. Noctis called his Engine Blade, fingers wrapping tight around the handle. He grunted and ran, hacking at the black tendrils that were wound around the car. Closer to them he could see they were pulsing and slithering slowly, tightening the grip around the car.

"What the hell is going on." Gladiolus asked, joining him. Ignis hesitated for a moment, looking at the daggers in his hand and walked over as well, beside Aranea to try and cut the Regalia free. He slowly sawed through the black liquid-like branch. He cut one bit free and it wrapped back around his wrist. Pain flared in the skin that contacted the liquid oozing from the stump of the vine. Ignis yelled, leaping to his feet and stumbled away from the car. "Careful! Once you cut them they grab you!" his voice was high-pitched, chest rising and falling rapidly and the muscles in his neck stood out.

"Shit! Watch out!" Aranea barked, rushing to him and her polearm made a tall arc as she brought her weapon over her head and down over the injured vine-like extension. Ignis leapt backwards closer to the Regalia, staring wide eyed at the liquid movements of the thrashing former branch. "You okay there sexy glasses?" She asked.

"Yeah." He answered her, straining to unwrap the severed tissue from his wrist. He threw it to the ground, looking around for his discarded daggers to impale the unnatural thing, stepping away from it as it continued to slither on the ground. "What is this? I've never seen…" He mumbled. He eyed his weapons, grabbing it and stabbing through the unnatural black tissue pinning it to the ground. "'Nea! Back up!" he called to her. She back-stepped until she was out of reach of the severed branch, looking at the ground to the car to the increased pulsing in the agitated black former-branches of the hissing trees.

"Look!" Noctis called over the chaos. Aranea and Ignis turned and saw both Noctis and Gladiolus madly hacking and pulling away the vines coating the car. After several hacks they were able to see through the car's passenger window that Crowe and Prompto were huddled together in the back of the car.

"We'll get you out!" Gladiolus called, redoubling his efforts.

"Get out?! How about you come _in_ and we get the fuckity-fuck _out_ of here!" Crowe snapped back, her voice muffled by the enclosed car. It felt like it took an hour to free the car, the four companions coated in sweat by the time they had removed enough of the black tendrils to clamber into the Regalia. The trees were reaching for them again, their black vine-like branches crawling across the ground. Aranea climbed atop Ignis's lap in the passenger seat, Gladiolus taking point in the driver's side as the two men hadn't paid attention to their usual arrangement in their mad scramble into the car.

"You guys okay?" Ignis asked, tying to look over his shoulder with some difficulty with Aranea tightly packed in the small space between his lap and the dashboard.

"Interview later, drive now!" Crowe barked. Prompto was busy hugging Noctis who was sitting behind the passenger seat, himself in the middle, and Crowe slapping Gladiolus's shoulder hard repeating _go go go!_ The car spun in place for a moment, the dusty soil dampened into a thin layer of mud from the dark drainage oozing from the slashed tentacle branches before with a jolt accelerated forward once the tires gripped the still dry soil beneath. The car lurched, swerving as Gladiolus struggled to regain control from the unexpected lurch. They spun down the road, until the mad swamp was behind them and they were back up on the main road. Clear of the Myrlwood light didn't greet them. The sky was black, the stars obscured by clouds.

"What the hell?" Gladiolus asked, echoed by the others who were similarly confused as they stared out the windows.

"How long were we in there?" Ignis asked in a muted tone. He squinted down at the car's clock, and saw that it was just after midnight.

"Pull over…" Noctis asked, once the threat seemed far behind them.

"It's dark. We need to get somewhere safe. And apparently have all our heads examined." Gladiolus grumbled.

"Pull. Over." He repeated. Gladiolus could hear the grunt hidden in Noctis's words and pulled onto the shoulder of the road. The car had hardly come to a stop when the Prince staggered out of the car and started heaving dark bile onto the pavement. Crowe and Prompto got out of the car behind him, the others doing so as well.

"Hey, Aranea. What happened to the bike?" Crowe asked, quirking a brow.

"Shit… I didn't think of that. We saw you guys missing and the car covered in… whatever those nightmare things are called."

"Lots of cuddling then?" Prompto asked, then walked towards Gladiolus with extended arms. Said man held his palm out, pushing against the blond's face as he tried to give the Shield a hug.

"Lots of rest." he grumbled back. "Noct you okay?"

"I feel like shit." he answered.

"We were apparently in there for hours…" Ignis observed, and started pacing the length of the car. "How is this possible? I could have sworn we were in there three hours at best. Not nearly ten hours." His musing was interrupted when a dull humm filled the air, and the ground began to shake. The humm turned into a low-pitched rumbling. Ignis braced himself on the car's hood, Aranea losing her balance and was thrown against him. Noctis crouched to the street; Gladiolus, Crowe, and Prompto forced to do the same. The shaking only lasted a quarter minute, though the noise continued for some time after.

"What was that? Earthquake?" Prompto asked, knitting his brows together.

"Whatever we just spend three hours in a forest to come out ten hours later." Gladiolus answered him.

"Anyone else have a headache?" Noctis asked. The others paused for a moment, and then answered _yes._ All of them did, indeed, have a headache.

Lunafreya was trying to breathe, her good arm extended and holding a shield around the car while they sped away. She maintained it, her limb trembling and her teeth biting hard enough into her lip to draw blood, until the giant was long behind them, and there was so sign of anything else ahead of them. Her head began to feel light and she tried to squint through the blur in her vision before she fell over, and never felt the impact of landing on her bad arm.

When she came to, Randall was shaking her shoulder and helping her sit up. She looked around, finding it difficult to discern her surroundings in the dark. She sat upright and groaned, hugging her bad arm and wincing as the pain echoed through the rest of her body.

"We're here. Let's get you to Dana."

"So she can call upon someone from the Empire to collect me?" she inquired, locking eyes with the hunter. She could see the fatigue in his face. The dark circles around his eyes, and his pale complexion seemed to glow in the dim lights of the area they parked.

"Uh, shit… umm… you probably overheard wrong and-"

"You need the money on my bounty for food." she cut him off. His gaze was wandering. The arm she had wrapped around her wrist and the spreading bruise. The window of the truck, something deeper into the camp. "I have a proposition that I think will satisfy all involved parties." she offered.


	43. Radio Station

I'm sorry my chapters are shorter than they used to be. I do hope that you find this chapter enjoyable

* * *

Every bump in the road make Noctis's head throb worse. The voices of his friends were tinny, a dull buzz overlapping. He squinted his eyes and groaned, failing to get himself to concentrate on conversation. He rubbed the heels of his hands against his face for a few seconds before sitting upright and letting out a hard sigh.

"Can we turn the radio on man?" he asked. Ignis was back in the driver's seat where he belonged. Gladiolus, feeling to crunched in the back of the car took the passenger seat. Crowe was sitting atop Aranea's lap, an arrangement that resulted in a lot of arguing. Noctis wondered if his odd behavior was why his lap was never suggested, or perhaps she simply thought of him as _Luna's_ , but with Prompto's leg she was left between Gladiolus and Aranea. Despite her hatred for the Nifleheimers, it had only taken one crass joke from the Shield for her to decide she'd rather sit on her fellow woman's lap. Said women seemed less pleased with the arrangement.

"What station?"

"I don't care." Noctis grumbled.

"Perhaps a talk station would be well advised, see if there is any recent news of other locations that were like the Myrlwood." Ignis suggested.

"We could call in about this girl-on-girl action in our back seat." Gladiolus remarked. Aranea grunted as Crowe shifted her weight, holding herself up with one arm on the center console so she could slap the back of the man's head with several muttered curses before settling back, Aranea lolling her head back and squinting her own eyes shut.

"I hate all of you." She muttered. "Okay except sexy glasses up there. He's okay. And the blondie we need to go rescue. Where next?" she asked. She wasn't sure where the group had settled on aiming for when they tore away from the rest area.

"Hammerhead, to see if we can… _borrow_ another motorcycle." Crowe answered. The stuttering of the radio stopped as it jumped from a music station, to some commercial, another music station. Briefly settled on a talk station but it quickly gave the car's occupants tin-toil hat vibes as the speaker began to talk about the Lucian royals originally being aliens who arrived with the extra-terrestrial crystal and finally decided to go back home, and that Nifleheim was merely filling the void of their departure. Two more music stations and another commercial before they found a second talk station that seemed to be discussing recent news.

"-sease seen in local plantlife resulting in local authorities in the western provinces of Lucis recommending against foraging, and for the time being also advising halting hunting. Many places have rescinded all hunting licenses until more is known. Recently, gil rewards for hunts along main roads have increased nearly one-hundred and ten percent after reported destroyed shipments to Lestallum and Galdin Quay have resulted in drastically rising food prices. Smaller settlements have reported resorting to hunting wildlife and foraging for enough food to feed their population, but are also facing the effects of interrupted shipments. Increased Nifleheim airship activity near the costal regions of Lucis have also been causing people to start storing whatever non-perishables they're able to get their hands on. Please join us tonight at nine for special guest Viridi Pollicis on how to preserve food for long-term storage."

The news made Noctis feel more guilty that he wasn't accomplishing his task faster. The news had Ignis pondering if the condition of Myrlwood was being seen elsewhere. Gladiolus grasped at the seemingly increased gil rewards for hunts, and suggested they take advantage. Ignis made a comment about the good idea it would be to tune in to that special radio show about preserving food, especially if there seemed to be growing troubles obtaining enough of it. Noctis nodded to each suggestion from his friends. To stocking up on more first aid, and kits to provide more advanced field care such as suture kids. He nodded to suggestions to buying more nonperishables, Gladiolus more than agreeable if it meant filling the trunk of the car with cup noodle. The commercial break on the news show ended, and after a short re-intro started talking again, getting the prince to finally raise his voice after the first line was spoken.

"Breaking news from Lestallum. Our beloved Oracle has been spotted in Lestallum. She is reported to be receiving treatment at Lestallum General Hospital for an unknown illness, and is currently in Niflheim custody. We have no word on her condition but authorities have been reassured by Niflheim officials that she is in good condition and is safe under their supervision. Outside the hospital protestors are-"

"We have to get to Lestallum!" Noctis barked, sitting upright and startling his companions enough to get Crowe and Prompto to lean away from him. "Iggy we have to! We know where she is! I -"

can warp through the wall or blow the damn door off the hospital and-"

"Noctis, please, settle!" Ignis interrupted. The car lurched as it pulled onto the shoulder of the road. "None of us will protest this detour." he assured.

"You bet your ass we're going to Lestallum." Gladiolus affirmed.

"Can't argue with kicking my old bosses' asses."

"Get my charge back? Fuck yeah!"

"Knights in shining armor coming your way Luna!" Prompto cheered. The enthusiasm of his friends chased away the ache in his bones, giving him the energy to sit upright. A smile broke his features and he asked Ignis to open the roof of the Regalia, suddenly wanting the wind in his face. The warm air felt good at it filled the air, ruffling everyone's hair. Noctis sat up on the back of his seat, running his hands through his hair. Crowe was quick to join him, Aranea equally thankful to have the woman off her lap. The Prince ran his fingers through his hair and let out a laugh, real hope filling his heart.

"We'll get her back." He stated, getting another round of cheers. The car turned to drive back ten kilometers down the road before turning towards Lestallum. He asked how far they were from Lestallum, almost fidgety that they were still three hours away but could hardly believe that his beloved Luna may only be a drive away. He leaned back, the warmth of the car's black paint felt good against his itchy palms, and seemed to send an ease up through his arms.

They listened to the news until it began to cycle for the third time with nothing new, deciding to pass the time with some music and alternated between the music and news channels whenever one of them went into commercial. The sudden surge of hope set Noctis's stomach grumbling, but his haste to get to Lestallum had him holding his tongue until Gladiolus piped up. Luckily everyone seemed to be in a rush to get to Lunafreya and it was a quick stop at a fuel station for over-priced packaged food and a refueling before they were back on the road.

The heat grew despite the passing of noon into early evening, but the wind in the car felt even nicer as they entered the cooled tunnel leading to Lestallum. They quickly found a spot in a small lot, the entire group unsettled by how much the car stood out but concluded that they were screwed enough one way or the other, with all of Lucis now knowing the location of the Oracle it was quite obvious the Prince would be likely to show up.

"Maybe we should have come up with a plan?" Crowe suggested, curling her lip.

"Fuck plans. We're getting Luna." Noctis insisted.

"Maybe at least think a _little_ bit?" She countered.

"We're in the middle of a huge city. Everyone knows Luna's here, and no one has ever announced the end to me and Luna's engagement. If they tried to kill me right in the middle of the city the whole damn continent would revolt."

"No one revolted when they burned Insomnia to the ground." She countered. Noctis flinched at her words and she frowned, feeling guilty.

"You heard the news, they're protesting outside the hospital. Maybe Insomnia was just too big a shock." She shrugged at this,

"So what do you propose we do?"

"Go to the hospital and ask for her room." He answered simply. The others exchanged looks, but were short on ideas. They crossed through the city and stopped when they neared the hospital. The radio describing protests was significantly underplaying at the hospital. At least three dozen uniformed officers were maintaining a path to the hospital's entrance, and what appeared to be the small ambulance bay. Surrounding the rest of the large building were hundreds of people. Some were holding signs, the cacophony of sound was almost jarring. They weren't chanting with any organized purpose, mostly either shouting whatever came to mind or talking to those around them. Standing in various places from the street were vans for various news channels carrying their cameras and microphones, positioning themselves to easily see the crowds and officers without seeing the other reporters doing the exact same thing a dozen meters away. There were people holding up phones either snapping pictures or recording the event. Some seemed to be talking at their phones while they did it.

"Wow." Prompto remarked, and pulled out his own phone, but quickly frowned and stuffed it back into his pocket. Noctis could feel the weight of his own useless phone in his pocket and found it odd that he never left it back in the Regalia. He almost felt naked without the weight of it.

"Uh… think we can get in?" Gladiolus asked, but pointed to the path held open by the officers. The group approached, and were a bit surprised that none of the protestors tried to stop them. It almost felt odd to be surrounded by such a crowd and be left alone. But the whispers that carried through the crowd were distinct enough to answer their curiosity. Even in his disheveled state Noctis was clearly recognized. One of the officers even offered to escort them to the door. No one bothered to ask what they were doing here at Lestallum General.

Noctis walked the halls, eyes scanning the numbers on the plaques outside the doors but after turning a small corner the numbers became irrelevant. A Magitek soldier stood outside one of the rooms, and his throat constricted. He almost lost his senses for a moment and pulled out the Engine Blade to dispatch the machine. He ran down the hall, the machine shifted its stance and turned its gun on him.

"Whoa!" Gladiolus barked from behind him. Two nurses in the hall screamed, a clatter of metal and plastic as a meal tray was dropped in the starle. The Shield stood beside the prince, Noctis's hand shot out to hold him back, eyes wide.

"The hell is going on?" A muffled but familiar voice ground out and Noctis's frown deepened and he had to dig his fingernails into his palms to keep control of himself, the itching weaving its way up around his arms and down his legs, causing him to bounce restlessly in place. Ravus exited the room, his brow creased and a scowl on his lips as he stared up at the machine and followed its gaze down the the Lucian retinue. "Perhaps I should have let it shoot." He grumbled. "Stand down." He barked up at the machine.

"Luna?" Nocits asked, a quiver in his voice.

"Resting. You should return later." He stopped, brow lifting and he turned his head into the room. His lips moved but Noctis couldn't make out the words. "Fine. Go in. Don't give me a reason to break your neck." He grumbled. Noctis pushed forward, pushing Ravus back with his shoulder as the stubborn man refused to move, and walked into the room where Lunafreya lay resting on the bed.

"Luna?" he croaked. Her arm was wrapped to her chest in a type of sling. Her eyes were rimmed with dark circles, and she appeared even paler than usual. A smile lit up her face and she used her free arm to hitch herself up in the bed. He wanted to encourage her to lie back but the words caught in his throat and he has to swallow hard.

"Noct." She whispered, the smile tugging at her eyes. He got his feet to move forward and he nearly stumbled as he rushed to her. He sat down on the edge of her bed and she leaned forward to press herself against him as his arms wrapped around her. "You won't break me." She chuckled at the delicate embrace. He gripped her tighter and buried his nose against her hair. She smelled like she had spent a long time running, like the tang of iodine, of burnt metal. But beneath that he could still smell _her_. "Gods Noct…" her voice broke, and her breath stuttered as she inhaled sharply. A sob broke his throat and he shook his head, nuzzling his nose against the crook of her neck.

"You're safe now… I won't… never again…" he stammered, halting between words and trying to gain control of his words. Her one arm gripped him tighter. The warmth of being in his arms washed over her, and she tried to lean harder into him. As if it was impossible to be close enough. She shifted her hips and tried to bring a leg beneath her but the awkward angle forced her to sit back. His arms remained wound around her waist as she sat back against the bed, her fingers digging into his shoulder as her hand stayed on him. "How?" he asked.

"I'll tell you the full story later. But I managed to find my way into my brother's custody."

"I'll warp you through the wall. We'll-"

"No need." She interrupted, bringing her arm down off his shoulder to press her finger to his lips. "Are you all right Noct? Something feels… odd. Are you ill?" She reached up to cup his cheek and he tilted his face against her palm. He almost wanted to tease her about her perpetually cold fingers but her touch felt too damned good. He brought his own hand off her waist to press her hand against his cheek.

"I just need a good night's sleep." He insisted. "As do you." She chuckled and nodded at this, unable to counter his concerns.

"I cannot argue with proper sleep. I… I quite missed lying next to you." her voice trailed into a whisper and she leaned forward to rest her head against his chest. She shifted to alter the angle so there was less pressure bending against her ribs. Noctis enveloped her in his arms again and she could have almost fallen asleep there. Her ear against his chest she could hear the rapid pounding of his heart, and tried to push away the concern reminding herself her own heart was rushing in her chest. Footsteps drew her attention and she opened her eyes, sitting upright again at the small crowd gathered at the door.

"Can we interrupt?" Prompto's voice asked, the blond gripping the doorframe and leaning inward slightly.

"I said the Prince could enter, due to my sister's request. The rest of you should wait!" Ravus insisted.

"I quite missed my friends." Lunafreya countered, shaking her head at him. He stared at her for a moment and she could see the trademark tension in his jaw as he bit down on the tip of his tongue.

"You need rest."

"She's assigned me as her shield you should at least let me through!" Crowe's voice cut in, even the wall not able to cut the woman's voice.

"Some Shield." He snapped, "I don't see how you protected her." Lunafreya's view was obscured by the narrow doorway but she saw the woman rush forward and both her and her brother vanished from view, two of the men in the retinue reaching out and discerning words became impossible with all the shouting. Her brother and Crowe's raised voices were shouting at each other over the chaos of the others trying to apparently pull them apart, unfamiliar voices that could only be the hospital's staff shouting over everyone.

"Enough!" She shouted. The sound of the Oracle raising her voice, tone laced with anger was enough to jar everyone to a stop. She could almost _feel_ everyone's eyes staring at her through the wall. "Ravus, let my friends through. My situation has naught to do with Crowe's capacity as my Shield and I choose to still entrust her as such." she explained, eyes locked with that of her brother. The pair remained still for a moment, and the others didn't dare interrupt. "I have spent enough of my life having my judgement called to question. You will cease this madness."

"Yes sister." Ravus responded. His chest heaved with a sigh and Noctis wondered if fatigue was scrambling his mind. "I leave her in your hands, _Shield_ , while I get coffee." He vanished from the room and the others rushed in. Crowe pushed past the others and climbed onto the small space left on the other side of Lunafreya's bed, opposite of Noctis, and wrapped her arms around the woman.

"Dammit you impulsive self-sacrificing pinnacle of pain-in-the-assery!" Her voice cracked, "I was fuckin' worried about you!"

"I missed you too Crowe." Lunafreya chuckled.

"Now I feel all left out." Prompto said, pouting out his bottom lip. Lunafreya chuckled, shaking her head lightly and looking up at them all,

"I missed all of you." She assured. Gladiolus leaned back against the doorway, Aranea doing the same in the corner, while Crowe pulled away from her so Prompto and Ignis could take turns hugging her themselves.

"Group isn't the same without you. I haven't even been here that long and I can tell." Aranea chuckled lightly, a slight warmth in her cheeks as she realized that she too missed the shy woman. "Though, I gotta know, how the hell did you get away from Verstael? I just can't see that psycho letting you prance off with your brother. I guess it has something to do with that?" she pointed at the sling.

"And no being dodgy. I think it's your turn to brag about some badass stunt." Gladiolus interjected before she could speak.

"I… I may have injured myself leaping from his airship." Her pale face turned bright red, her words effectively silencing the room.

"What?!" Crowe snapped, her voice overlapping Noctis's shocked gasp and wheezed question for clarification. Lunafreya was thankful that her brother had walked off for coffee and glanced up to the doorway to confirm he wasn't there. She also wondered why there was no security showing up to kick everyone out of the hospital after the commotion they caused.

"I escaped the custody of Verstael by jumping from the airship." She stated again.

"How… when it was on the ground?" Noctis asked.

"No." She answered.

"How'd you jump out of a flying ship and walk away with only _that_?" Crowe asked, lightly tugging on the strap around her neck holding the sling in place.

"I found a new use for my shields. I was able to materialize them using dust in the air as an anchor." The others gaped as she told the tale of her escape, and subsequent near recapture.

"So with you in the back of their truck they were just shootin' the shit about turning you over to the Nifs? Two rando hunters wanted to turned the motherfuckin' _Oracle_ over to the Nifs? You jump outta their truck too and land in your brother's lap while he was busy practicing his scowl to scare of daemons in the middle of the road?" Crowe asked.

"Well. In a roundabout way…" Lunafreya tapped at her chin causing the woman to laugh. "We were forced to stop in the middle of the road. I was able to use my Shields to help us escape the daemons that blocked the road. Once at a safe distance I made a deal with them. I would give them my brother's contact information so they could turn me into _him._ Thus they could receive the bounty on my head for turning me over to Niflheim, and I wouldn't have to find myself back in Verstael's airship after all I did to escape." She explained.

"And your brother just handed them a bunch of money for betraying you after you saved their asses?" Gladiolus asked.

"Maybe he shoved the money up their asses, I can see him doing that." Prompto suggested.

"He did threaten to do so… but I pleaded with my brother to fulfill our end of the bargain. He was less than pleased with the condition I was in when he arrived and wanted to make the two men match my state. I talked him out of it. But not out of the broken noses he gave the pair of men…" her voice trailed off and her nose wrinkled.

"I'm gonna track those motherfucker's down and give them a few more broken bones to match." Crowe grumbled.

"No." Lunafreya quickly interjected. "They were just desperate. They were talking about scarcity of food, and needing money to buy supplies." Crowe mumbled a bit, but made no further threats.

"Anyone gonna focus on the fact badass here jumped from an _airship_ and manged to not die?" Aranea brought the conversation back around.

"Not unharmed. Controlling my shields while falling proved quite difficult." She explained.

"Is that how you broke your arm? Or I assume that's what's with the sling." Noctis asked her.

"Nah, the sling is just an accessory! Ever the fashionista!" Prompto teased. Lunafreya bit her lip, debating letting the subject drop but decided against it. _Stop hiding._

"My arm has two fractures, but luckily do not require surgery merely strict rest. I also broke three ribs. They were concerned I may have sustained a concussion as well, but they lack the dye they need to do a proper scan in addition to some problems with power supply. They've been forced to shut down certain things." She explained.

"They can't power up a machine to scan the _Oracle_?" Gladiolus asked with a huff. She shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment. Relief was starting to give way to pure exhaustion.

"It is not a matter of not prioritizing me." She clarified. "There have been problems with supplies in every form. Food, medicine, power, even water was briefly problematic but luckily they've restored that."

"I wonder if we can do anything." Prompto suggested. "To thank them for fixing you up and everything."

"By finishing our task." She wanted to ask Noctis if he had managed to gather more royal arms. Her thoughts were interrupted as the tray at the foot of her bed began to rattle, and the shaking grew more intense until she could feel it in the bed. Noise filled the room and Noctis held her close, only loosening his grip when she gasped and pushed against him. The shaking lasted for about fifteen seconds and stopped, leaving everything looking around them.

"Anyone else feel that?" Prompto asked, and nearly everyone rolled their eyes at him.

"You seem quite tired, My Lady. Perhaps we should part and allow you some rest?" Ignis suggested. Lunafreya nodded before giving herself time to ponder the question and give a polite declination.

"I never thought I would miss sleeping upon the ground. But I find myself excited to once again sit around a fire with you all once we part from Lestallum." She answered. Ignis smiled at her, giving a nod.

"Any special request for our first reunion meal?" He asked.

"I don't know what supplies we still have, nor what we may be able to purchase. But… I will admit a strong craving for your spicy mushroom stew you made that night we foraged some peppers."

"A simple enough task." He nodded to her. "'Nea, would you mind joining me while I find the few ingredients I still need? I have most of it packed in the Regalia."

"Sure thing." She answered him. "You get some rest. And making lots of kissy-faces with your beau here. "Missed your way-too-polite-ness. Glad to have you back, assuming we can wrestle you away from your brother."

"Broken or not, I can run quickly when I want to. I'll merely step on his foot and sprint." Lunafreya joked.

"Maybe you _did_ get a concussion, did I just hear you make a joke?"

"Quite likely I've struck my head." She laughed back.

"I should let you rest then, best thing for a concussion is to sleep it off, right?"

"I thought you were supposed to totally keep a person awake if they hit their head so they don't die?" Prompto asked, brows together with a look of confusion.

"Bullshit from movies. Sleep helps any injury." Crowe answered him.

"Let's let her sleep. I need to check on Iris while we're here." Gladiolus suggested. He finally righted himself from his position leaning against the wall and crossed the short space to lean down and give Lunafreya a loose hug. "No letting Noct warp you out a window and run away or Crowe will beat me senseless."

"More like Regis will feel a disturbance in the force pull out his own Armiger to fly across all of Lucis just to kick your ass for letting Noctis run off like an idiot." Prompto countered. The others laughed, Lunafreya feeling secure, joy returning to her heart as fear seemed successfully locked away behind the laughter and smile of her friends, in the arms of Noctis. Crowe promised to stay close, giving her a hug before leaving the room. Prompto did the same, and joined Gladiolus to go search for Iris. Alone in the room with just her and Noctis she asked him to close the door, with the empty room the various movements and shadows in the hallway unnerving her. While he crossed the room she shifted to the side edge of her bed, her palm resting in her lap while she waited for him to rejoin her.

There wasn't much space, but he managed to sit beside her and she nestled into his arms again. She sniffed, emotion washing over her and her fingers tightened around his shirt and damning her injured arm keeping her from embracing him fully. She was grateful for the pain medication coursing through her system allowing her enough comfort to press herself tightly against him.

"I'm so sorry Noct." She whispered, breath hiccuping into a sob as she tried to take a deep breath. She bit her lip, but her exhale was another sob. Soon she shook as she wept, Noctis holding her close chanting against her hair his own apologies.

"I'll never let them touch you again Luna. I don't care how many guns they have. I'll pull out my Armiger, call every damned Astral and blow up half the damn star if that's what it takes to keep you safe!" He promised.

"I do believe if you blow up half the star, that in of itself is a bit of a contradiction." She teased, managing to regain control of her voice. He laughed, his own breath stuttered and hiccuped as he quieted his sobs. "You feel unwell." Her brow came together again as the unease returned.

"I just need rest." He assured her. She doubted this, but exhaustion was overwhelming her. After her jump from the airship, the trip in the truck, the handover to her brother, and trip to Lestallum she had failed to find sleep. But here, in the arms of her beloved she finally felt warm, that she was finally comfortable enough to find slumber.

"As do I." She whispered.

"I should let you get some sleep." He nuzzled her, holding her tighter.

"Don't-"

"I'm not leaving." He interrupted her. She drew back, looking up into his bloodshot and swollen eyes, his pink tear stained cheeks, and thought he was the most beautiful thing she had seen. She reached her hand to his cheek, lifting herself and tilting her head to press her lips to his. He leaned into the kiss, a hand on her back tugging her closer. The pressure of her arm between them kept him from holding her as tight as he could. But her lips were once more against his, her hard nasal breath tickled his cheek. She placed a second quick kiss on his lower lip, drawing back and lifting her brows to try and keep her eyes open.

"I love you Noctis… _Gods_ how I love you." she whispered.

"I love you so damned much." Noctis echoed, another sob in his voice.

* * *

Was this a satisfactory reuntion? Feels like an adequate close to this arc and transition into the next one? Please let me know what you think!


	44. Thommel's Glade

I am back from the dead! Well recovered from surgery round 2 is January 15th. Tis the holidays so I might be getting hectic but I will try to keep writing meanwhile. I do hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

A single half-night of sleep hadn't been enough for Lunafreya's consuming exhaustion to be abated, compounded by the pain medication she had received. A spent ice pack wrapped in a pillow case was placed on her bedside table, and it had dulled the throbbing in the bruised half of her face. Some of the swelling had gone down revealing how bloodshot her eye was. In spite of a nagging anxiety over her locale being known, she had fallen into a deep dreamless sleep shortly after receiving the medication, and finally secure with her hand clasped within Noctis's. He was bent over her bed, his own eyes heavy and let himself rest with her hand within his.. Her fingers were woven with his, her grip loosened as she drifted to sleep. His thumb idly brushed across her knuckles, her perpetually cold hands felt so damned soothing and familiar within his. Sleep began to call at his beleaguered mind, but it didn't seem his friends could bear staying away for too long, their collaboration of voices jarring him back into a sitting position, and Lunafreya to blink away blissful sleep.

"Got coffee!" Prompto announced cheerily, holding a pair of cups in the air with Ignis and Gladiolus just behind him. The Shield crossed the room and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Ignis was shaking his head as he entered the room as well,

"None of that for the Oracle, I brewed up some Ebony for her. I say she's earned it." Ignis countered.

"When did you… how..?!" Prompto asked, crossing his brows as his eyes darted about when he tried to think about if he even saw Ignis step away. He held the second cup out to Nocits instead who accepted it with thanks, still a bit perplexed. He shrugged it off and instead started to fantasize about sleeping in one of Lestallum's hotels and not rushing off to go sleep on the ground for at least a week. His back was begging for a proper bed.

"Coffee?" Lunafreya mumbled before yawning, stretching her arms and arching her back. Withdrawing her hand from Noctis's got him sitting up and acknowledging the others entering the room.

"Fresh." Ignis confirmed.

"Still haven't explained how or when." Prompto argued.

"Either way she looks like she needs some coffee. And a month of sleep." Gladiolus added with a smile.

"Really know how to butter up a lady, remind me again how on Eos you're single?" Prompto teased.

"And remind _me_ the last time you got laid?" He quipped back. Ignis sighed, rolling his eyes at his companions. He held out a cup to Lunafreya, who took it with a smile and grateful nod and brought the hot drink to her lips, cupping the paper mug with her hands enjoying the warmth against her cool fingers.

"Where is everyone else?" Lunafreya asked, a light blush painting her pale cheeks while she glanced around at them.

"Crowe got kicked out of the hospital, and Aranea decided to keep her company so she would not opt to pick a fight with wandering citizens to vent her frustrations. As for your brother, he decided to take a walk." she suspected that this walk was to spare the hospital staff the awkwardness of asking him.

"Does bring up the question through were we're all sleeping tonight." Prompto asked.

"I'm so tired I could pass out under a rock." Noctis answered, pinching the bridge of his nose and rubbing to ease the pressure headache he had been feeling since Myrlwood.

"I'm glad _you_ could sleep like that, but I was thinking something more along the lines of... beds?"

"I must agree." Ignis nodded, Prompto smiling wildly and reached out to slap Ignis hard on the shoulder.

"Hotel?" he suggested, "maybe one with a complimentary continental breakfast? Oh man hot bacon and pancakes and bacon and some orange juice and bacon…" His rubbed at his stomach just thinking about such a hot meal.

"I am sure there is likely to be one in the area with vacancy." Ignis concurred.

"We need to leave Lestallum" Lunafreya answered, quickly bringing the paper cup to her lips again, eyes dipping down into the dark liquid. Nocits's brows came together and he sat straighter.

"You need rest!"

"Says the dude who could sleep under a rock." Prompto mumbled.

"Can't argue with a hotel and lots of bacon in the morning."

"Verstael will not suffer losing me for long. He will likely come to collect me soon, if not already on his way." She tried to explain, thumbs running along the sides of the cup, sitting up fully in the bed and one of her feet shaking restlessly. Noctis's face curled at her words, biting down hard on his bottom lip and taking a deep breath that he let out in one rough nasal exhale, his own fingers scratching at the stiff hospital sheets.

"Can't your brother cover for you?" _Can you even walk yet?_ The question caught in his throat, Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed to choke down the words, looking from her one restless leg, the sling and second strap of fabric around her chest to secure her arm in place. Her gaze caught his for a moment and he fixated on her bloodshot bruised and swollen eye. "He can tell Verstael you need rest."

"There's only so much he can do. And making me seem more inferm to Verstael will only convince him all the more that I belong back on his ship under his medical care. He does not place must trust in Lucis."

"Why don't we hide out in the city? Last place Verstael will think to look!" Prompto offered, but Lunafreya shook her head.

"You underestimate him. You discovered that I was here at the hospital under my brother's custody. This means that Verstael shall know as well, and in all likelihood is coming to collect me knowing I am unlikely to be in fit condition. The sooner we flee the better." Noctis wished his friends had waited just a little longer to return. "Do we have a way to reach out to Crowe and Aranea?"

"Agreed to meet up at the Regalia to talk about food and sleep at seven." Prompto answered. She grimaced at that answer, and flinched slightly to fight the urge to turn and look out the window for sign of an airship. Noctis turned and tried to catch her eye seeing this, and turned to Ignis,

"Talk to someone in charge to let Crowe back in, Prince's orders. She is a royal Shield afterall. With everyone back we can try to figure out what we're going to do." Noctis suggested.

"Find two women in all of Lestallum? Oh man yeah piece of cake!" Prompto declared, waving a hand in the air.

"Just have Ignis go wander around and Aranea will appear out of thin air." Gladiolus smirked, laughing when Ignis flinched and righted himself, staring back at him over the rim of his glasses. Lunafreya pressed her coffee to her lips to sip at it to help cover up her own smile, but neither Prompto nor Noctis bothered to hide their amusement.

"We merely find that we have certain things in common."

"She does like thsoe _sexy glasses_. of yours!"

"Be mindful that of this pathetic lot I am the only one who knows how to cook." He threatened.

"Glad I saved up some gil to go get myself a nice hot bacon-filled breakfast tomorrow." Prompto said. Ignis sighed and sipped at his coffee.

"Please don't count me in amongst these ruffians." Lunafreya joked.

"I shall always be pleased to offer my best to you, my Lady." He bowed his head.

"Please just call me Luna." She corrected, eyes dropping for a moment. He merely smiled, not having caught her expression and corrected himself.

"So for getting Crowe and Aranea back here?" Noctis suggested again.

"Doubt we can track them down in the whole city." Gladiolus objected. "Get some sleep we'll meet up like we said." Lunafreya opened her mouth to object, but stopped, brows knitting together as she tried to think of a way to recall Crowe and Aranea. It was a short debate to decide that unless the pair returned early they would wait.

Lunafreya refused suggestions to sleep, insisting that the coffee Ignis provided had reinvigorated her. To pass the time Noctis turned on the small television mounted on the wall, and after flickering through some channels found a movie channel. She had never seen, nor heard of, the movie that Noctis assured her was only just passed the beginning. Prompto had whined about being hungry, so him and Ignis left to get something to eat but Gladiolus refused to leave his charge behind.

"Lunafreya?" She looked up, flinching as her brother's voice startled her.

"Ravus, you gave me quite the startle!" she admonished, pressing her hand over her chest and tapping.

"You always did tease me as children that I should learn to wear a bell." He smiled down at her, crossing the room.

"I'm glad you're back." She let out a sigh, her heart rate starting to slow from her startle.

"You need to leave Lestallum. I received a call from Verstael, he's heading into Lestallum first thing in the morning. That was all the time I was able to buy you." Her smile dropped and her gaze with it.

"Not a moment to rest." She agreed. "Noctis, Gladiolus, please allow me a moment with my brother." She requested. She looked up to catch Noctis's gaze as he jerked in response to her request. "Please." She repeated in a whisper, reaching out to place her hand atop his, her fingers stroking the back of his hand.

"Come on, let's get a drink." Gladiolus clapped hard on Noctis's back and he shook his head and got to his feet.

"I'm not leaving her alone with a _Nif_ again." Ravus's fist impacted the side of Noctis's jaw before Gladiolus could grab his wrist. The Shield turned his hips and rolled his shoulder to punch Ravus in return, Lunafreya's shout preventing an all-out brawl.

"Stop this madness! I've had enough of it!"

"I am not a Nif!" Ravus bellowed, wiping blood and spit from the corner of his mouth. His words were slightly slurred, the bite on his tongue and split in his lip already beginning to swell. "You forget yourself Caelum. You forget what _your father's failure_ cost us! We lost _everything_ while you got to cower behind your wall!"

"Stop this!" Lunafreya pleaded. She threw back her sheets, swinging her legs over and jolted to her feet, immediately falling back with a gasp of pain. The men turned, Ravus's chest heaving and Noctis clenching and unclenching the fists by his thighs. Ravus's eyes were wide and wild, and he brought his hands up through this hair.

"Luna I…"

"Noctis leave me with my brother." He hesitated at the commanding tone, clearing his throat and wiping at his own face, wincing at how tender it was. He licked his lips, blinking several times as his eyes darted around the room and he forced his hands to relax.

"Yeah. I won't be far." He answered and walked out of the room. Gladiolus throwing his shoulder into Ravus, and leaving the room with a middle finger in the air.

"I still don't see-" Ravus started, watching the two Lucian men leaving the room and taking a step towards the doorway.

"Enough!" She shouted again, squinting her eyes as the tears burning her eyes finally rolled down her cheek. "Why must always we fight?" She asked, her brows pressed together, her face lined by her frown. Ravus took a breath, halting his steps and turning to her with his mouth open. She held up her hand, shaking her head.

"I understand what we lost that day Ravus. _Trust me._ I fully appreciate the consequences of that day. You are not the only one. Since that day I have never been allowed to live as I please. I beg of you, at least allow me to _love_ as I please." Her words broke as a sob made it through her throat. She squinted, swallowing hard to try and regain her composure.

"I wish nothing more than for you to do just that." He sighed, biting his tongue to keep his remaining marks silent. He looked down at her, and his shoulders dropped. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, leaning on one arm with the other wrapped to her chest. the tears seemed to only roll down one half of her face. Her fingers curled around the bed sheets and she was shaking her head. "Go with Noctis." he sighed, working his jaw. "Just get out of Lestallum. And I owe that Shield of yours a broken jaw." He grumbled.

"She's a good woman, Ravus. She's my friend. They all are. Gods… I. I have _friends_." She looked at him, lifting her arm and dropping it against her thigh for emphasis. "I… I had a cup of coffee today, quite good coffee, simply because one of them thought of me." She mused, her head tilting slightly to the side.

"But they can't keep you safe." He argued.

"Nor can you! Nor can I! No one can!" She shouted. Ravus flinched, staring at her. "I will never be safe, until my duty is complete. You _know_ this!"

"All because you bear mother's curse."

"Because I bear it." She agreed. "Join us, if you so worry for me. Help protect me. You lose custody of me so I can flee this place the damage will have already been done. Defect!" She pleaded.

"You are safer if I stay within the Empire." he reached into his pocket, shaking his head to keep her from countering. "Here," He held out a small phone, and she knit her brow.

"But they can track patterns in the cell towers, it's how they found us before." She argued.

"It's a burn phone. Keep it off except to check it a couple times a day. I'll send you messages about movements of the Niflheim fleet. Keep you one step ahead of them."

"But won't they notice your messages?"

"I got myself a burn phone too. They might figure it out eventually. But if it can keep you safe…"

"And what about you? Ravus… you're all the family I have left. I can't lose you too." She bit her lip, the sobs threatening to come back.

"I'll do everything I can to stay safe. If they sniff me out I have an airship, remember? I'll fly somewhere safe and then join up with you then. But you're safer if I stay within Niflheim to manipulate things from the inside." He reached down for her hand, picking it up to squeeze. He opened his mouth and shut it again, Lunafreya suspecting he was trying not to admonish Noctis or her friends further. "Stay and watch a movie with me? Nocits found a channel on the hospital television." A smile appeared on his lips for a moment and vanished, her brother shaking his head.

"You need to leave immediately."

"But Crowe and Aranea." Ravus sighed, trying to think.

"Set out ahead of them, I'll get a message to them when they return to where you're headed." he suggested. She wondered, for a passing moment, if it would be wiser not to tell him. But she wasn't sure where they needed to go. How many arms were left? They had four more covenants ahead of them. Her breathing was starting to quicken until her brother's voice jarred her out of the spiral of thoughts. "Lunafreya?"

"Hammerhead." She decided, hoping her retinue would agree. She thought of Regis and momentarily felt saliva rushing to her mouth and she tasted bile in the back of her throat, her heart began to race again. But she took a deep breath, letting it out long and slow to cause the sensations to fade. "I wish we could just catch our breath." She lamented. She let out a short laugh, shaking her head. "By the Six Ravus. I jumped from an airship, broke what feels like half my body, and oh what I wouldn't do to sleep for an entire day."

"Are you in much pain?" He asked.

"Only when I move too much. They gave me some medicine earlier, though I feel it may be wearing off." She admitted.

"I can get something off my airship," he offered.

"The hospital is likely to provide a prescription." Ravus quickly shook his head. He saw Lunafreya's face sour and held up his palm,

"A prescription requires visiting a pharmacy, which is trackable. Verstael does not trust Lucian medical facilities and will wonder why I allowed you to fill a prescription. I will get you something." She strained to think of something to delay him, to hold him here a bit longer. Always fighting. Always arguing.

"Please just… stay a while?" She pleaded.

"The sooner you leave the safer you are."

"Perhaps you can spirit us to Hammerhead?"

"They track the location of all their airships. Even the puppet ships. They would know I went there."

"But how shall you explain my disappearance?" She asked.

"Verstael does not command me, I'll merely explain that I have you in my custody while you recover due to the severity of your injuries, and after what happened to you under his care I don't trust him." She let out a short laugh, shaking her head.

"Once I finish these covenants…"

"We can watch all the movies you want." Ravus promised. "I'll go get those pills." She stood on her feet again, ignoring his attempt to protest. She stepped closer and wrapped her good arm around his middle and rested her head against his chest, squinting away the newest burning tears.

"Even if I pick the longest, most boring fantasy movie I can find?"

"Isn't it a little sister's job to drive her older brother insane?" He responded, returning her hug. He bent down, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"As it is an older brother's to be overprotective." she gave a sad laugh, letting her arms drop by her sides as he let go of her before he parted from the room. She let her shoulders drop once he was out of the room and the smile vanished from her face. She sat back down on the bed, trying to turn herself back onto it so she could lie back and gather what little energy she had left to their latest attempt to run from the Empire.

"Hey." Noctis greeted as he returned to the room some minutes later. Despite having been given a cup of coffee by Prompto, Gladiolus convinced him it was wise to go get another one anyway. Not wanting to feel jittery he decided to buy some snacks from the vending machine, and returned to Lunafreya's room with a packet of cookies and a candy bar for her, an empty candy bar wrapper in his pocket and a package of chips for himself.

"Hello to you." She smiled, shifting in the bed to sit herself up a little bit with the bed's control.

"You and your brother talk about how much sexier I look with this manly bruise?" He asked, pointing to his cheek before walking to her bedside, handing her the packet of cookies. She pressed her lips together and sighed, reaching to brush his cheek with her fingertips.

"Is this enough yet to convince you to cease these fights with him? I'm realistic, I understand that he will never gain sense… but I have more hope for _you_ my dear scruffy Prince." Her lips twitched into a half-smile.

"He definitely knows how to throw a punch." His brows lifted while he nodded. "He manage to be a human for five minutes or was he a complete prick to you too?"

"I have had enough of arguing with the two of you about this." she snapped, making Noctis flinch at her tone and she continued before she could hear another apology. She could feel a headache building behind her eyes that echoed the throbbing in the rest of her body. She told him of Ravus's suggestion, and as expected Noctis and Gladiolus immediately opposed the idea. The fact that now Ignis and Prompto were also separated from the group complicated the plan to flee.

"Why don't I just find a rocket launcher and blow his ship to hell." Gladiolus grumbled, rubbing his face before running his hands through his hair.

"Would allow me the best night of sleep I've had in months." Lunafreya replied, despite the lurch her stomach did at the thought of cold murder. She blinked away the image of Nettmann being pushed off the airship, and wondered what became of his corpse. The thought of Verstael got her heart rate to pick up again. "We perhaps should heed his advice and flee this city. Give ourselves a head start against him."

"And just leave Crowe and Aranea behind with nothing but a note to catch up to us?" Gladiolus quested, then rubbed at his chin. "Maybe Commander Assshole is onto something." Lunafreya just sighed, and ignored the jab at her brother hoping the pair got it out of their systems.

"Can we even trust someone with a message like that?" Noctis asked.

"No." Lunafreya answered immediately, shaking her head. She stared down at the sling holding her arm, her brows tightly knit as she let out a slow sigh. "People are growing desperate." she elaborated, looking up to meet Noctis's concerned frown.

"So what do we do?" Gladiolus asked.

"I suppose that in spite of risk we are forced to wait for Crowe and Aranea to return." Lunafreya responded.

"Why don't we watch a movie," Noctis started, pointing his thumb at the television, "while we wait for Iggy and Prompt." Noctis and Lunafreya ate their snacks, Gladiolus was eating a container of cup noodle he got from the vending machine with hot water from the coffee machine while they waited for the said pair to return.

"Lunafreya?" Ravus knocked lightly on the door. Noctis and Gladiolus both flinched, the Shield jumping to his feet.

"Please." she pleaded, shaking her head. Gladiolus cursed under his breath and sat back down, tipping his styrofoam cup into his mouth to down the salty broth before tossing it across the room into the small wastebasket.

"Here… these should help." He grumbled, crossing the room. "You should leave shortly." He instructed. She shook her head, passing her doubts about trusting anyone with passing the message of her location to anyone in Lestallum. It was only two more hours to the expected meet time, but even this left her brother feeling on edge.

"We must agree to disagree on this, as we do many things. Please, watch this movie with me with the time i have left." She asked. Ravus paused, and she repeated her request, looking up at him with wide eyes that often had him sneaking into the kitchen for cakes as a child. The damned kicked-puppy look that led to him getting grounded on endless occasions. He sighed, letting a small smile crack his face.

"I guess I can suffer a movie. What is it?"

Noctis's fervor to collect the royal arms during Lunafreya's abduction had Ignis pouring over maps during downtime trying to help plan their routes. When Hammerhead was suggested as their next destination, Ignis countered suggesting they head to Thommel's Glade instead. Noctis was disappointed at not being able to consult his father, but lacked any strong argument for passing by a Royal Arm. Prompto bemoaned the lost opportunity to talk to Cindy, Gladiolus lamenting the lost opportunity for a large plate of deep fried foods from Takka's.

Lunafreya was surprised that she was allowed to simply check out of the hospital, and wondered what her brother had said to the nurses to make this happen. But it made getting everything down to the Regalia simpler. They climbed into the car, realizing that a trip to Hammerhead was going to be extremely necessary.

"Gods I miss my bike." Aranea lamented. She was in the middle seat in the back. To her right was Noctis, Lunafreya sitting on his lap. To her left Crowe was sitting on Prompto's lap. Gladiolus had declared shotgun the moment the car was in sight earning the luxury of the passenger seat, leaving Ignis sitting in his usual chair.

"Yeah not everyone appreciates snuggling as much as those two." Prompto grunted as Crowe tried to shift her weight.

"Don't wanna cuddle?" Crowe whined, pouting her bottom lip and tilting her head. "My ass too bony for your chicken legs?"

"Don't mention chicken legs, damn… now I'm hungry." Prompto pouted. The trunk of the Regalia had been packed with several bags of nonperishables. The price of fresh vegetables at the market had been prohibitively high, forcing the picky chef to pick from a limited selection of dried or canned vegetables. Even meat wasn't plentiful; instead relying on canned beans to provide the group's protein.

"I'll pull over if I spot a cockatrice." Ignis replied to the complaint, and thought about the stew he'd be able to make with such a catch. He shifted gears and pulled the car from its parking lot as dusk settled over Lestallum. He twisted the knob to activate the lights, and questioned their decision to flee at night.

"So none of us thought out this whole… running away during daemon o'clock thing did we?" Prompto asked, drumming his fingers on the seat, and trying not to bounce his legs.

"In the Myrlwood nothing came into the tomb, I was going to suggest we sleep there." Ignis offered.

"What about the car? It's pretty recognizable and Verstael will be hunting around the area for Luna." Nocits asked, his arm around her waist hugging her closer to him.

"Once we arrive we can see if there's a more subtle place to stow the car."

"Wonder if Cid's garage can repaint the car." Noctis half-mumbled, wincing and reluctantly looking up to Ignis, the man gripping the steering wheel hard.

"I… That may be a prudent decision." He sighed, and took the next turn harder than usual to pull onto the main road out of Lestallum.

"Oh man gonna paint the car? Pick some cool color!" Prompto encouraged.

"The point would be to make it blend in." Ignis answered. There were a few suggestions coming from the group. White from Lunafreya, red from Aranea, green from Crowe, Prompto suggesting blue while Ignis and Gladiolus remained quiet on the subject. The sky was deep crimson, and lines formed on Ignis's brow that Lunafreya could make out when she glanced up at the rearview mirror. Her gaze went back outside. Her hands were folded in her lap but felt Noctis grip her tighter and released her hands, the white skin flushing back to pink while she placed them over his, her thumb idly brushing against the back of his knuckles.

Clouds were arriving from the horizon, likely bringing shadows or rain during the night and she hoped that it would make the land darker and harder to find the black car. They turned off the main road after some time, the sun having dipped behind the horizon. Ignis flicked the car's highbeam headlights on, and Lunafreya closed her eyes and focused on hear breathing and tried to tap into the light residing within herself to keep the daemons away from the car. _In, out. One… Two… Three… Four… Five… Six…_ Her mind fell away from her fears hiding in the darkness and a serenity settled into her chest.

"Luna?" She flinched and opened her eyes, blinking rapidly. "You fall asleep?" Noctis asked, worry creasing his brow.

"No. Merely… meditating." She countered. "We've arrived?"

"Yeah, found some trees to park the car under so you probably can't see it from an airship." He answered. She nodded, following him out of the car. The clouds she had seen had indeed rolled in, obscuring the moon and the stars leaving everything dark. There was growling and hissing around them, and everyone gathered just in front of the car, and Lunafreya found herself unable to suppress a flinch when the headlights were turned off and Ignis joined them.

"How far to the tomb?" Noctis asked.

"That hissing is getting louder…" Prompto complained.

"We'll be quick, it isn't far. Less than half a kilometer." Ignis explained, and glanced at Lunafreya.

"I can feel them, I don't know how well able I am to fend them off." she answered the way he locked eyes with her. He nodded, dropping his eyes to the ground.

"I apologize." He said quickly, and in the darkness he saw her smile and shake her head.

"I fear my light may be dimmer until I find proper rest. So it is I who should apologize to you." He shood his head but before he could open his mouth to counter her she turned her attention to a mumbling Aranea. "Pardon?" she asked her.

"I was wondering if it's smart to leave the car there." Aranea pointed to the trees, "Fuckin' things aren't going to turn into some deep-sea nightmare?" Lunafreya's brow creased and she looked between Aranea, to Noctis, and back to Ignis.

"Whilst you were captured, my Lady, we thought it prudent to find more royal arms and sought one in the Myrlwood. It seemed the blight seeped into the ground itself. The trees were blighted." Lunafreya grabbed arms as chills rolled goosebumps across her skin, and she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She tried to glance around for any sign of the parasitic disease but it was dark and every shadow sent her heart rate increasing.

"I don't see the trees moving, except for a little wind. But I'm still sure as hell not staying with the car again!" Prompto shouted. They could hear his voice echoing earing a hiss of _shh_ from his companions before he mumbled a reflexive sorry.

"Your leg okay?" Noctis asked.

"I'll hop if I have to I'm not staying with the car again." He refuted.

"Yeah I can't blame you…" Noctis agreed.

"We need to move with the headlights off things might grow the balls to come after us." Gladiolus interrupted, stepping up beside Noctis and giving his shoulder a light push. The Prince started to walk, keeping his pace slow until Lunafreya was beside him and Ignis took point to lead the way with Aranea at his side. As they walked away from the car the hissing started to grow louder. Noctis looked around trying to see in the dark, his eyes now better adjusted he could make out better detail than a sheet of black anywhere further than a foot from his face. To his right he saw a large ball moving rapidly towards them,

"Oh shit!" He cursed, backing up quickly. It was a large shaggy ball that rattled as itdmoved sounding like brush in a windstorm. Long limbs stretched out from the central body in a spider-like creature. It hissed when it jumped towards him. He felt Engine Blade's hilt in his hand but two long legs impacted his shoulders, two more pairs wrapping around his middle while the final pair pushed into his upper thighs. Mandibles made of thorn-coated branches snapped at his face as he twisted his neck and arched his back, his curse vanishing into a scream.

There was a flash of blue as Lunafreya called her trident, managing to bring it level with her face as another shadow lunged at her. The long leg-like branches had more joints than any animal Lunafreya had ever seen, wrapping around her shoulders in jerking motions, thorns digging into her skin as the trident kept the mouth from biting her, two thick mandibles snapping millimeters from her face. Her arm strained, her muscles burning as her trembling limb tried to hold the heavy weapon up with one hand. The once-plant's roots whipped below it, and with a twist of its thorax it managed to turn itself so the tentacle-like branches could tangle around hers the thorns pricking through her denim pants. She gasped as thorns dug into her thighs and she fell backwards. She let go with her trident to cushion the impact with the ground, tensing in anticipation of the pain of the impact. She grunted as the air was nearly knocked from her, rolling onto her side to try and protect her face from the thrashing branches.

"Fuck off!" Crowe snarled and the hissing turned into a screech. The branches tangled around a long heavy stick she had picked from the ground and swung at the living shrub. Thin red cuts appeared along Lunafreya's body as her Shield forced the arachnoid shape off of her. The brunette grunted and turned, the daemon releasing the stick before trying to whip at Crowe with the jointed tentacles that dragged from its former roots, "Oh fuck no!" She snapped, feeling the chill vanish from her palms as fire ignited and she wrapped her fingers around it. She smirked, backpedalling to draw it further away from Lunafreya and cast the flames just as they began to grow too intense for her skin. The small ball nearly exploded on impact.

"Hell yeah, Trogdor!" Gladiolus cheered, grunting when he brought the greatsword down but the thing scuttled away and only lost the distal joints on three of its legs, leaving it skittering lopsided.

"It's not enough alone!" she snapped, flexing her palms and wondering what the hell was wrong with this area. The arachnoid daemon screamed as the last of her flames went out, leaving it shivering, legs jerking rapidly twisting and for the barest moment Crowe thought the damn thing looked like it was in _pain._

"What the hell are these things?!" Noctis grunted as his Engine Blade hacked at the daemon that had been pinning him. Gladiolus had freed the Prince from the arachnid daemon, and the two were now hacking at its legs to try and immobilize it. For each branch they managed to snap off another one grew, jerking and twitching as knots formed in the once-wood where new joints were.

"Can I cast a vote for just running past these things?" Prompto asked, backing up until his back collided with Gladiolus and screamed at the contact.

"Gotta put some some Valium in an aeresol can." Aranea teased, thrusting her polearm into the jointed tentacles of the shrub Crowe was struggling with to pin it down, the two women working at hacking off the ever-reappearing legs.

"Like _you're_ so badass?" Crowe snapped.

"I said aerosol can for a reason, spray that right in my face so I can sleep for a week the memory of _these_ things are going to haunt my dreams for a _month_." She quipped back. She bit down onto her bottom lip,patting at her hips for a sidearm wishing she had made carrying one a habit but her polearm was holding the jerking arachnoid in the soft soil. She looked over to Lunafreya who had managed to get to her feet, crossing the short distance to her.

"Give me your trident," she asked, holding out a palm. Lunafreya hesitated, looking between her sling and her good arm. Her brow came together and she let out a hard puff of air through her nose, gaze turning back up to the daemon. It was once a fern, wider than it was tall. What would have once been tapering green leaves were shriveled black, wiggling like short limbs from the branches of varying lengths. Without its thick green leaves Lunafreya could make out the red thorns poking from the wood. It stood up on eight of its longer branches that contained enough joints to give it a very unnatural jerking motion where one would expect a smoother tentacle.

Aranea took the Trident, letting out an _oof_ when it was dropped into her arms, startled by its weight. But she was quick to correct herself and rush back to Crowe. She held the weapon above her head and brought it down, feeling the tipped prongs tear through the branches of the arachnoid and bury into the soil beneath. It squealed, blackened roots waving wildly and spraying a tar-like substance around it. Aranea felt it against her face, madly spitting as an intensely bitter taste filled her mouth to match the scent assaulting her nose. She rubbed hard at her skin, cursing and backpedaling away from the thing while Crowe side-stepped around it, calling more fire.

"Luna, think you can manage a shield?" she called. The Oracle stared at the trapped and screaming once-fern, chewing the corner of her lip while she nodded. Crowe threw her fire, Lunafreya her shield, and the three women squinted and turned away from the intense light that flashed. The fire burned intensely, and aware of the sticky substance still coating her cheek Aranea stepped further away from the fire while she watched the dome glow white before the flames vanished. Lunafreya grunted as she dropped her shield, and fell to her knees. The trident vanished, but the smoldering arachnoid fern didn't move.

"Shit she overdid it, never should have asked her to do that!" Aranea rushed to her side, placing a palm on her back. Crowe cursed,

"Help them I'll watch her." She countered, nudging Aranea. The dragoon hesitated for a moment before standing, gathering her polearm and joining Noctis and Gladiolus. The daemon had shrunk, hissing and dancing around the ground littered with its twitching severed branches, the shriveled leaves crawling across the ground like leeches in the bottom of a pond. Despite the intense damage it had taken it still moved too quickly for either Nslipe or Gladiolus to cleave it clean in half. She was able to use her polearm to pin it in place, though she missed the dead center and the daemon was able to wrench itself away, sacrificing more limbs and leaves in the process.

Noctis let out a hissed breath, cursing and dropping his focus. One of the black leaves had attached itself to his leg. He reached down, trying to grab it but its slick tissue caused his grip to fail and he cursed again as the bite burned, then started to grow numb. He took several steps backwards, looking at the ground and the two more leave-leeches attached to his boots.

"Shit guys watch out!" he called, stomping on his own foot to try and kill them. They squealched beneath his boot and he curled his nose as an intensely bitter scent assaulted him causing him to cough from the intensity. The others took notice of the leeches and also backed away from the daemon.

"Uhhh… guys… might be time to run." Prompto suggested again. He held his pistols in his hand, and had hesitated in firing them out of fear of hitting his friends during the chaotic close-range battle in the dark. But the startle from the leeches had everyone clearing enough space that he fired, the sound echoing all around them and he winced. A few leaves were shed, but the arachnoid showed no other signs of noticing the bullet. "Seriously guys," he looked around him and tried to put himself closer to where Crowe knelt beside Lunafreya.

"Don't tell me there's more of these freaky things!" Noctis called.

"More than that, dudes just look!" he called. The others risked glances around, and could see their situation. Bombs had started emerging, which explained Lunafreya's ability to make out detail on the still smoldering arachnoid. There was a scraping signifying a nearby Iron Giant. The sounds of battle had drowned out the hissing they could now hear while they tried to evaluate their surroundings. They could see long black tentacles reaching for them from the nearby trees, and further scraping.

"I do believe I agree with Prompto, running may be the most prudent choice."

"Not sure Sparkles here can run." Crowe countered.

"I am all right." The woman quickly argued, pushing against one knee with her good arm. She gasped as she stood, pressing her hand against her ribs and biting hard on her tongue to restrain her voice. Her face was curled, brows knit tightly together as she breathed carefully in and out of her nose.

"No arguing." Noctis told her as he vanished his blade, walking over to her. She righted herself quickly, catching his eye but seeing Gladiolus taking another swing at the once-fern tried to swallow her pride. Noctis lifted her into his arms, and with Ignis taking the lead everyone broke into a run towards the tomb. Noctis had his Shield on one side, Lunafreya's on the other; Ignis ahead and Prompto behind forming a circle around him that caused him to tense his jaw. A dull shadow, hardly discernible from the surrounding darkness became more detailed. A stone dome, coated in moss of various shades, the darkness preventing any color from being visible. _Please don't let the tomb be blighted._ He prayed.

More once-ferns had tried to attack, but were held back by flashes of pentagonal light as they impacted a shield Lunafreya was holding around them. It would shatter with each minimal impact, but the Oracle would bring it immediately back in disregard of all the warnings the others were giving her to stop. The soft thudding of feet on soil became higher pitched as they reached the stone platform surrounding the tomb.

"Whoa look, they stopped," Prompto pointed out while Ignis struggled to open the tomb door with his trembling hands. The others looked, seeing that the daemons that pursued them had halted at the edges of the stone, stalking around the perimeter.

"I ain't risking it, get us inside sexy glasses." Aranea asked a slight quiver in her voice. He managed to get the door opened, and stumbled as everyone rushed inside pushing at each other. Gladiolus was the last to enter and closed the doors behind them, both palms against the stone and panting for breath as he leaned his weight, pressing his forehead as he tried to gather his senses.

"Is every tomb going to be like this?!" Prompto asked. He too had sunk to the ground quickly, massaging his leg and wincing at the soothing ache it caused, the sharp throbbing already beginning to dull, the sole of his foot intensely itchy as sensation returned and he wondered at what point it had even gone numb.

"The Blight grows." Lunafreya offered in answer. Noctis had set her down so he could sit beside her, and she rested her weight against him as she heaved to catch her breath. Crowe sat beside her, and Aranea leaned against the stone platform to be across from the Oracle, and Ignis sat down beside Prompto.

"So… that means it won't have to bother with small fry like us anymore and the rest of this crazy adventure?" Lunafreya chuckled at Prompto and nodded.

"Like a six year old trying to pick a fight with a heavyweight boxer, just ain't gonna consider it anymore." Gladiolus agreed, a humorless laugh punctuating his words as he too sank to the ground.

"Quite the five-star you've booked for us tonight Iggy." Prompto looked over to his friend.

"As ever I find it wise to balance our comfort and budget." he nodded.

"You okay Luna?" Noctis asked, feeling her weight against his arm. She nodded, but her face was tense, and he saw her fingertips on her good hand scratching against her pants. Aranea too noticed her tension, and reached inside her jacket, patting around it. She found the small metal box she was searching for, and undid the zipper to slip it out.

"I should have something here to help the pain so you can sleep." She offered, setting the tin on her knee and lifting the lid. It was a small med-kit, standard issue to most Nifleheimer soldiers. While merely a mercenary for their army, she had been given a med kit, survival kit that was stuff somewhere back on her crashed airships with the MREs that had formed most of her meals. "And don't you dare go pulling some holy Oracle shit on me saying something you can bear the pain you'd rather let me keep it in case I get mauled by a flying ursa." she lifted a pre-filled syringe and twirled it for a moment, grunting as she got up to walk the two steps to sit back down again within arm's reach, "need me to give it to you?"

"What is it?" Lunafreya asked in place of the protests that filled her head. Casting her shields had sapped what little energy she had. It was merely pain throbbing in her face, her arm, her ribs, radiating throughout her body that was keeping her from falling unconscious.

"It's a low-dose morphine."

"Morphine? How did you obtain morphine?" she lifted her brows at the other woman.

"Ancient military policy in Niflheim, some old war forever ago they would give it to their soldiers in a standard med kit thinking it could help them keep fighting after being shot since dragging them out of the trenches they fought it was pretty impossible and every finger on a trigger was important." she explained, half trying to recall what little history that managed to stick in her brain, and half making it up.

"Only half." Lunafreya agreed when the dragoon asked her again if she would accept the dose. A pinch, a slight burning at the injection site, and fell asleep to the feeling of Noctis brushing his fingers through her hair.


	45. Girls' Night

Bribing my friend to do her thesis work in exchange for working on this story also benefits you guys!

* * *

The night passed in brief episodes of fitful sleep. Jarred awake by hissing and screeching, with the sporadic echoing _boom_ of an agitated bomb. The stone tomb obscured the sounds, the scratching sounding at times as if it were the ceiling or the floor beneath them. Noctis wished he could pull out his phone to watch a movie, staring up into the darkness, idly running his fingers through Lunafreya's hair, relieved that at least she sleep to fall into an undisturbed slumber. He grunted, shifting his weight to try and ease the ache down his left leg without disturbing her sleep. The scritching sounds were making his arms itchy, intensifying in his hands until he rubbed his hands against the stone.

He wanted to talk, to pass the dragging hours with _anything_ but the vivid images dancing behind his eyes at every change in the nonstop noise outside. He closed his eyes as he felt an ache building up, and wished it would just knock him out. He tried to gaze around the room but it was pitch black. He cursed himself again for not having thought of gathering magic, making a mental note to stop at any visible nodes once they were in the car again. If the damned thing hadn't been enveloped by the daemon plants.

The ache in his eyes grew, spreading into a throb in his ears. He scratched at the back of his arm before rubbing his palms against the ground. He debated getting up and working out this agitation by stomping outside and slaying every damned daemon outside. Gladiolus had fallen asleep in front of the door. Or at least was doing a good impersonation of sleep. But in the pure blackness it was hard to tell. Maybe he would agree to go outside with him.

He shrugged off his jacket and managed to slide Lunafreya off his lap, tucking his jacket under her head. She barely moved, making a small sound before becoming still and he stared down at where she was for a few seconds more before getting to his feet. He rolled his shoulders and stretched, standing on his toes and felt his joints pop with an audible crack. He grunted, sagging his shoulders and mumbling about how good the pop in his knee had felt. He wished he could see and tried pacing the small area but felt a soft body that caused him to stumble.

"Ugh… what…?" Prompto's voice complained.

"Shhh…." Noctis hissed, not wanting to wake the others. Though it seemed it was pointless as there was an echo of half-mumbled complaints and an incoherent comment from one of the women.

"Floor sucks." Prompto whispered. Noctis felt for the edge of the stone carving and settled himself down next to where he thought his friend's head was.

"Yeah, can't sleep. All this noise is just making me itchy." Noctis complained.

"Yeah… I can't sleep either."

"Just wishing I could pass the time with a movie."

"Maybe Ignis can figure out a way to activate movies on our phones again without pissing off the cell towers?" Prompto suggested. Noctis heard him shift and felt Prompto next to him.

"We're gonna keep everyone up by talking." Noctis worried.

"None of us can sleep anyway. Pretty sure everyone is pretending." Prompto whispered back. "I think I fell asleep at one point but had a dream an octopus was building a model car and whispering my name while throwing chunks of bread at me." He explained. "That… that makes it sound more childish. But it was really creepy I swear."

"Worried about the shit my imagination will come up with to haunt me with if I managed to fall asleep." Noctis sighed. "At least Luna can sleep."

"Pretty sure she'd sleep through a meteor hitting the star at this point." Prompto chuckled, getting a moan from nearby Ignis causing him to wince and whisper _sorry._ "Hey after this shit is all said and done we need to hit up Insomnia Pictures with movie ideas after all this stuff we've seen." He joked.

"Traumatize a whole new generation."

"Oh man you gotta do it like a found footage film, like that weird alien one. Only edit out all the credits 'n stuff so it looks like a literal home video. Show it to your kids and tell 'em this will happen if they don't behave."

"Dude… remind you never to let you near any children. Ever." Noctis shook his head, but was hiding a broan grin and stifling a laugh.

"You and Luna want like twenty kids?" Prompto elbowed him, the Prince imagining the way his friend was wiggling his eyebrows at him.

"I think Luna would want a ton of kids. I think I'll panic after one." Noctis answered.

"I can totally see you panic dude. But then the moment the kid is born you become that angry wolf-dog that eats anything that gets too close to his puppies."

"Like photographers who try to traumatize kids with fake-edited horror movies?"

"Exactly!" Prompto laughed, slapping his knee.

"If you don't shut the hell up I'll rip my underwear to make gags for the two of you!" Gladiolus barked. "Worse than the damn daemons!" The pair snorted, apologizing again.

"Try to sleep dude." Prompto suggested, shifting to try and lie back down.

"Yeah." Nocitis agreed, rubbing his palms against the stone again. The rest of the night dragged. By morning the backs of Noctis's arms had been scratched deep pink managing to draw a few welts that were already scabbed over. His palms were still itchy and had managed an abrasion on the heel of his left hand. But the sting of the superficial wound was paradise compared to the maddening itching. But it began to fade as the agitating noise outside settled down into silence.

Small details started to become visible as the pure blackness of the night gave way to dim light. Gladiolus was the first to stir, grumbling about how shitty he slept. Prompto and Ignis were next, and the sounds of the guys grunting and stretching roused Aranea and Crowe. Lunafreya rose last, but her shifting movements over the last ten minutes had Noctis wondering if she had actually been the first awake.

"Time to see if the car got eaten?" Prompto asked with a stretch. "Wish he brought food with us… I'm starving."

"Once back to the car I shall make us breakfast." Ignis offered. This motivated the others enough to get up from their uncomfortable positions on the floor and agree to get the hell out of the tomb.

"Wait!"Noctis saw half his retinue flinch at his declaration and winced, gesturing at the stone carving of his ancestor. "I never actually got what we came here for. Would suck if we had to backtrack because I forgot."

"Forget an undearwear-gag, I'd shred it up cover it in sauce and make you eat it like pasta if you dragged my ass back here again." Gladiolus threated.

"Skid-mark spaghetti?" Prompto asked. Aranea and Ignis gagged at the suggestion, causing Crowe and Prompto to burst into laughter, infecting Lunafreya who tried to press the back of her fist to her mouth.

"I wash my ass!" Gladiolus defended, crossing his arms. "I can pull em off for you to see. Sure the ladies won't complain." He added, wiggling his brow. Crowe rolled her eyes, Aranea crossing her arms and cocking her head to the side.

"I dunno, I think sexy glasses here has a sexier butt."

"Hey now, you two up to stuff you haven't told me about?" Gladiolus asked, walking over to Ignis and thumping him on his arm.

"I assure you I have been a perfect gentleman. I merely know how to pick pants that are complementary to my physique." Ignis rebuked.

"Fancy speak for showing off your ass." Prompto teased. While his friends bantered Nocits held his hand over the tomb, wondering if he could feel and focus on that magnetic tug with that damned itching. But the sensation came, making his whole arm feel heavy. A flash of blue and the shield appeared above their heads, and flashed to him for that spark of intense agony. He staggered back as the immense weapon collided with him to join his armiger. Lunafreya flinched at the process, her brows tight together and her hands gripping her upper arms hard.

"Noctis… did you sleep last night?" she asked. He looked at her and shrugged, sure that his cat-naps counted as a poor night's sleep if you added it all together. "Perhaps outside you can show us your armiger with its newest addition?" she suggested. Her tone was low, and Noctis blinked trying to ascertain the intent to her words.

"Yeah." he agreed, though he wasn't looking forward to how damned _itchy_ he would feel finally answering its call. They turned their attention to where Gladiolus had Prompto in a headlock ruffling his hair. Ignis merely watching with crossed arms while he pleaded for help. Crowe was laughing and muttering something to Aranea that he couldn't hear.

"Come on dude! Let me go! I don't need my head this close to your crotch!" Prompto complained.

"Don't like my sweaty ball scent wafting through my pants? I think it has a certain musky aroma that attracts the ladies to my pure testosterone" Gladiolus teased. He opened the door to his tomb, only letting go of his grip on Prompto once outside. The blond pushed hard against the Shield's chest and staggered away, fake-sneezing several times to clear the now vivid imaginary scent out of his nose and rolling his shoulders.

The Regalia was coated in fallen leaves, but otherwise unharmed. Ignis had pulled ingredients out of the trunk of the car and made a simple oatmeal, having found fresh produce in limited and unaffordable supply at Lestallum. He had purchased traveler's bacon, which had been cured more intensely to allow it to keep without refrigeration and cooked eggs in the grease to have something with flavor to accompany the oatmeal. None in the group had any complaints about the super simple meal, assuring Ignis everything was fine and the eggs were perfectly cooked making a perfectly savory oatmeal. With full stomachs they climbed into the car, agreeing that Hammerhead would be the next best place to go to get the car painted and decide on their next destination. And perhaps with luck coax Cid into renting them another vehicle.

Despite having five people in the backseat that could barely comfortably fit three, everyone in the car managed brief naps during the drive save for Ignis in his driver's seat. But freshly brewed Ebony in his favorite travel mug provided the energy the advisor needed to keep himself awake and alert, and he rather enjoyed the semi-solitude, tuning the radio to his favorite station.

The Regalia pulled up in front of one of the garage bays at Hammerhead Station; its occupants eager to get out of the car and stretch their cramped limbs. Cindy welcomed them back with a broad smile and her hands on her hips. She was wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit that was unzipped with the upper half of the suit tied around her waist leaving her in only her black sports bra, her wild curly hair tucked as best she could into a baseball cap.

"Well hey there y'all, here t'see the King?" she asked.

"Hi Cindy. Yeah, where is my dad?" Noctis asked. She thumbed over her shoulder and looked towards the door,

"Inside with Paw."

"Well I'm starved and hitting Takka's. Go have some father-son time. Luna come get food with me? You must be dying for something real after all that Nif grub and hospital food." Crowe stepped up beside her charge and pat her roughly on the shoulder, missing the way the Oracle winced before composing herself.

"I do recall enjoying Takka's food." Lunafreya admitted. She turned, placing her hand on Noctis's shoulder. "I assure you, I shall be all right a few feet from you to get some food." she smiled, noticing how he shifted the weight on his legs. She stood on her toes and planted a kiss on his cheek letting her lips linger for a moment longer than usual.

"Okay. I can meet up with you guys after." Noctis suggested.

"Oh no no, let her have some girl time for once." Crowe shooed, pushing on his chest. Lunafreya chuckled, heat touching her cheeks. Noctis reached to give her hand a squeeze, and as she stepped back to follow Crowe she held his hand as long as she could, letting her fingers slide slowly from his grip, brushing his fingertips before she allowed her hand to drop to her side.

"You wish to join us Aranea? Unless I'm mistaken some _girl time_ usually requires all the girls of a given group, no?" she invited, glancing between Crowe and Aranea. Both women shrugged, but Lunafreya could still make out the smile on the latter's face. The rest of their retinue had a variety of tasks they wanted to attend to and parted from the trio who walked towards Takka's.

Inside they were greeted with the smell of cooking food and brewing coffee. Two men sat in the booth at the far end, and a young looking couple sat at the diner bar tucking in to a meal. The three women sat themselves in the middle of the row of booths, Lunafreya scooting in the booth where she could still see the doorway while Crowe sat across to be able to watch the four people behind her, Aranea sitting next to the Oracle.

"Welcome to Takka's!" A young woman they didn't recognize greeted them. She wore a white apron over a white tee-shirt to match Takka, a small pin with her name handwritten onto it _Melinda._ "What can I get you for?" She asked as she pulled out a small notepad and a pen from the pocket of the apron.

"You got beer?" Crowe asked.

"Sure do!" The woman's bright face fell for a moment and she cocked her head to the side, "Are… you the Oracle?" She asked with her eyes meeting Lunafreyas. The blonde folded her hands in her lap and bowed her head in a subtle nod,

"I am." She confirmed. She could make out the slight wince in Crowe's expression but kept her own impassive. Beside her Aranea sat back and crossed her legs.

"Pleasure to meet you." She replied as the false excitement of a server faded. "But may I ask… what happened to you?" Lines appeared between her brows and the sides of her nose as her expression soured.

"Car accident." Lunafreya answered, remembering the shape she appeared in and drawing her shoulders back in slightly, good arm wrapping over her sling as a light in the back of her mind suggested buying a tacky sweatshirt from the shop on the opposite side of the garage that could fit over her sling.

"May I get you anything?" Melinda asked after a hesitation, dragging her gaze away from the bruised woman.

"Beer?" Crowe asked again. "IPA?"

"Certainly. Umm… anything else?" she asked.

"Don't you go saying water Sparkles, after the shit you've put up with you've earned yourself a beer." Crowe pointed a finger at her. Lunafreya chuckled and shrugged, looking up at the server.

"Do you carry fish and chips?"

"Sure do! Anything for you ladies?"

"Giant basket of chili fries." Aranea answered.

"Sounds good, same here." Crowe agreed. Melinda nodded and tucked her notepad back into her pocket after ripping off her top page and walking to the counter to hand the small paper to Takka. "So… you gonna tell us what exactly Verstael did to you?" she asked Lunafreya.

"It wasn't Verstael." Lunafreya started, Aranea nodded as her lips thinned.

"Not the hands-on type. He'd need to shower in bleach if he did that himself, and probably spend the next month vomiting and scrubbing the skin off his hands." She rolled her eyes.

"Do you recall the base that…" her words trailed as her voice hiccuped. "That we attempted to take down?" she inquired. The others nodded, gesturing for her to continue. "That officer, Nettman. Well he was aboard Verstael's ship and he caught me in the act of attempting to escape." She explained.

"Fucker." Crowe snarled.

"We'll get him. We'll shoot that damn ship out of the sky drag that excuse for a man out of that ship and kick his ass!" Aranea agreed.

"Verstael was… displeased that Nettmann damaged his precious Oracle." Lunafreya shook her head. She leaned over the table, her eyes fixed on her clasped hands, thumbs rubbing deeping to her skin leaving brief circles of white. "Shoved him off the airship while it was still hovering."

"Gods…" Crowe whispered, shaking her head.

"Motherfucker got what was coming to him, just wish it was _you_ that got to cave his skull in, not the ground." Aranea sighed.

"You really do need that beer." Crowe sighed, nodding her head with a high-browed expression. "So he did _all this_?" she asked, gesturing at her entire upper body. Lunafreya shook her head, a half-laugh huff of air coming out her nose.

"Merely my face. The rest I sort of did to myself." She offered in way of explanation.

"Wait wait. Before you tell us, I have an idea," Crowe wagged a hand at her seeing Melinda approach their booth with a tray carrying three frosted mugs and a pitcher of deep amber beer. They thanked her and nodded when she told them their food would be out shortly. "Why don't we try to guess how you escaped and managed to beat yourself up. If we're wrong we drink. One of us manages to get it you chug that entire mug and we pour you another."

"Ha! I like how this one thinks!" Aranea laughed, pointing to Crowe. "Game on." Lunafreya flushed and shrugged, bringing her hands back into her lap. "Okay your idea, you go first." She gestured at Crowe.

"Summoned a unicorn to fly away from the airship but pat it's ass a little too hard and got bucked off?" Crowe asked. Lunafreya snorted, shaking her head. Crowe took a large swig of her beer and gestured at Aranea.

"Pinned Verstael to the wall with your trident and charged out of his airship screaming _yippee ki yay motherfucker!_ and keeping Magitek bullets away by giving them all the finger?" Lunafreya laughed, shaking her head and the woman took a large swig.

"New rule two bad guesses means Luna takes a drink. Can't have her sober now." Crowe suggested. Aranea nodded, both women egging Lunafreya until she picked up her mug in an attempted large swig coughing as the carbonation unexpectedly irritated her nose.

"This… this is really good." She remarked, clearing her throat. "I am being genuine." she added, not sure if she sounded sarcastic.

"Figured if you like that Ebony stuff Ignis is always drinking you'd like a bitter beer." Crowe shrugged. "Okay next guess. You climb out the air vents like some badass action movie star?" She asked.

"No. Actually… that is what I was attempting when Nettmann encountered me. Turns out air vents are not quite adequate methods of escape as media would leave one to believe."

"Oh shit…" Crowe's brows lifted and she took a long swig of her mug.

"Hmm… Well knowing creepy Verstael he probably had you in some lab right? Did you throw a vial in his face and run like a son of a bitch?" she asked, shaking her head at her own suggestion and was reaching for her beer before Lunafreya confirmed her wrong answer. Another guess about climbing through various parts of the airship, or running away from bases. The trio had finished their mugs and refilled them when their food arrived.

"Give us a hint?" Crowe asked after she made another incorrect guess of riding Verstael out of the airship mid-flight like a flying carpet.

"Okay. Umm…" Lunafreya hesitated for a moment, then focused her attention on a french fry that Crowe was about to fork and a small shield came around out, shimmering and blinking away when the fork poked it.

"A shield?" Crowe asked. "You… can you ride one like that witch in Oz?" she asked. Lunafreya shook her head.

"That counts as a guess. Drink." Aranea suggested. Crowe gave her a middle finger and drank, following it by a bite of chili fries not impeded by Lunafreya. "Trapped Verstael in a shield and ran away?" Another drink for the dragoon. After another pair of incorrect guesses had them shaking their heads.

"Okay I give up." Crowe caved. Lunafreya told them about the discovery she made about her shields and her self-punishing practice in her given chamber. Of memorizing the patterns of the walls and the code for the door that lucky for her memory was a mathematical constant. By the time she told them of how _exactly_ she managed to break herself so completely leaping from a still hovering air ship had them both staring at her.

"Bullshit." Crowe declared confidently. "No way in hell you dove out of the fuckin' sky landing half a hundred times on shields! I was _joking_ about jumping out of that thing!"

"How else could I have incurred these injuries?"

"You even skewered a Magitek?"

"Okay wait so let's recap," Aranea interrupted. "So you half-rode your magic bubbles like Glinda, you skewered a Magitek not Verstael, memorized fuckin' _wall patterns_ which _counts_ as something as clever as the air ducts in my opinion. I say we correctly guessed. Just in half-right pieces. You chug." She declared. Lunafreya, who was already feeling like her head was floating with a calm contentedness overcoming her previous anxiety, hesitated before grabbing her mug and finishing it. Only over several long gulps with a pause halfway through, but the other two seemed satisfied at her attempted chug. Crowe gave her a hard slap on the back and laughed,

"Damn. We'll make a civilized woman out of you yet!" Lunafreya smiled, popping one of the few remaining french fries left on her plate into her mouth.

"Well now. We should keep this game going." the Oracle suggested, tapping on the side of her own jaw, eyes partially shutting as she thought. "Oh! I have an idea. If I recall correctly you were once quite upset at another gentleman about an incident involving a cookie recipe?" She asked.

"Libertus." Crowe ground out through her teeth.

"Oh man. I pity the guy who pisses _you_ off. With that fire ability of yours?"

"Gonna set his damn pants on fire." Crowe half-mumbled.

"By giving him gonorrhea?" Aranea asked. Crowe's cheeks flared red and her eyes went wide realizing what she walked herself into. She picked up a french fry and threw it at the dragoon, flipping her off with both hands, Lunafreya laughing a full-bellied laugh beside her.

"On the subject of pants. Is there a time that you are planning to finally find your way into Ignis's?" Lunafreya inquired, blinking rapidly and shoving the rim of her mug clumsily to her mouth bumping her teeth as she tried to cover her question with a long drink that only resulted in a lot of coughing.

"Don't need to take his pants off. Things are so damn tight they don't leave much to the imagination." Crowe quipped.

"I don't know my imagination has run a little wild more than one night. Wouldn't mind him assisting me in that though." Lunafreya felt her cheeks flush, Crowe barking out a laugh at Aranea's blunt response.

"I bet you twenty bucks you won't hit on Ignis by the end of the week. He's too damn proper, freak you out." Crowe pointed a finger.

"I counter. I bet you she _will_ do something of a flirtatious nature." Lunafreya countered.

"Hey!" Aranea interjected, crossing her arms and leaning back against the seat. Lunafreya laughed, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder,

"Should I rectify my prior statement to say you'll simply do _him_ by week's end?" she inquired.

"Hang on now you shy little prude. How about you actually _kiss_ your Prince in the vicinity of other living things and _I'll_ hit on sexy glasses." Aranea took her turn to pat the blonde roughly on the shoulder.

"Prude?" Lunafreya questioned. "Shy perhaps…"

"Have you even held hands with him?" She lifted a brow.

"I'll have you know _I_ was the one to come onto _him_ to get him into my bed for the first time." Heat bloomed in her cheeks, dyeing her ears red to match little pin-pricks appearing on her neck as well, and she shoved the mug to her mouth once more to drown down her own words, squinting and wishing she had thought of shutting herself up a moment earlier.

"Ha! Told you!" Aranea slapped her hand on the table, wiggling her fingers at Crowe, "pay up!"

"Wait a moment…!" Lunafreya asked, brows lifted as she looked between the pair.

"Yep. Had a bet on you." The Shield rolled her eyes. "Who got who first." Crowe leaned over to fish a bill from her pocket, slapping it down on the table a triumphant Aranea stuffing it into her own pocket. "Figured our prim-proper Oracle wouldn't be the instigator." she tried to offer in defence, giving the dragoon a middle finger.

"She's the older one out of them and have you _seen_ Noct around her? No way in hell he had the balls to try and get her pants... dress? off first."

"He's a _boy_!" Crowe snapped, throwing her hands up.

"Girls get horny too!" Aranea declared. Crowe snorted causing Aranea to turn quickly around and see the glare she was receiving from the couple a few booths away, the mother of a young child pressing her hands over their ears while the father fished bills out of his pocket. Aranea winced and mouthed a _sorry_ to them that only caused her companions to giggle, and the woman's face to scrunch even harder.

"And speaking of," Lunafreya slapped her palms on the table, nudging Aranea with her hip until the woman let her up. "I think I shall tend to that very phenomenon."

"What? Angry parents?" Crowe asked, "don't go apologize to eavesdropping strangers."

"A _horny girl."_ Lunafreya clarified, leaning over the table and failing to suppress a giggle before righting herself. She reached across the table to finish off the few sips of beer in the bottom of her mug, patting at the seat of her pants for a wallet that didn't exist.

"You aren't paying for a damn thing!" Aranea interrupted her action, "Our treat. Go give that Prince the night of his life. And if you kiss him in front of someone I'll stand by my word and go hit on sexy glasses."

"Better yet let's follow her to make sure _we're_ the ones to witness this rare event!" The angry couple shoving their confused child passed by their table, Aranea mumbling another _sorry_ as they passed. Lunafreya swayed slightly when she stood, pressing the heel of her hand to her temple but managed to walk out of the diner without stumbling.

The sun was low in the sky, and she winced wondering how severe the daemons would be but then remembered her damned sexy Prince could hack them into tiny pieces. She wondered how powerful his armiger would look with the latest editions and tried to make a mental note to herself to have him give her a show so she could give him one. Maybe she could get them into the trailer alone again tonight. _Too long since I had him to myself for an entire eve_. She mused. _Oh Gods why did I drink so much?_ followed immediately, her cheeks flaring as she thought about her words and her stated intentions. Then remembered her intentions with a warmth settling low in her belly. Immediately after her ribs throbbed and reminded her why her imagined night probably wasn't going to happen.

She couldn't see Noctis sitting outside in the chairs, but passed by Gladiolus and Ignis who were sitting in Cid and Regis's usual spot outside, waving back with her good arm as they waved to her, managing to contain her wince.

"Is Noctis inside?" she asked. Gladiolus nodded, thumbing at the door.

"Still talking to his old man." He grumbled.

"Oh. I don't wish to interrupt." She bit down on the corner of her lip.

"I have no such problem?' Gladiolus assured her, waving his hand when she tried to protest that she could wait. "You sat in an airship alone long enough he can shut up and come out to see you." He offered. She pressed her lips together in a thin smile, holding onto her sling with her good arm and nodded at him.

"A seat my Lady?" Ignis offered, standing up and gesturing at the lawn chair. Lunafreya smiled and shook her head. He looked about to insist but just nodded and sat back down. Gladiolus emerged and took his seat again, Noctis glancing from him up to Lunafreya, crossing the short distance between them.

"Enjoy your girls-night?" He asked, able to smell the beer on her, chuckling lightly. She nodded, biting down on her bottom lip and the corners of her lips quirking into a smile before she stood up on her toes, reaching with her good hand to help hold herself up on the back of his neck and pressed her lips against his. while her eyes snapped shut. The kiss was brief and she settled back onto her heels. Her face once again had flared deep pink, her hand still resting against his shoulder.

"What was that for?" Noctis asked, chuckling. Lunafreya just smiled, looking over her shoulder.

"Was this satisfactory?" She asked.

"Hey. Sexy glasses." Aranea greeted. Ignis looked up, head tilted slightly. "C'mere a second." She asked. He stood up and walked over to her.

"Something wrong?" He asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Aranea reached up, and pressed her lips against his. She sighed slowly out her nose, letting her mouth linger on his for a moment and could feel him sighing against her as well, a hand brushing against her waist as she settled back

"Damn. You taste even better than you smell." She nudged him with her shoulder, smiling up at his flushed cheeks. He cleared his throat, pushing at the rim of his glasses again.

"It seems Ebony and beer make quite the delightful combination. Perhaps you ladies should grab a beer together more often." He answered, his voice a half-pitch higher than usual for his first words before clearning his throat.

"I feel like I missed something." Gladiouls remarked then looked at Crowe, "Well, gonna leave a guy hanging?" he asked.

"Not gonna be the _other girl_ when you cheat on your left hand." She shot back. She walked up to Lunafreya, slapping her hard on the back and jerked back when she saw the woman wince. "Sorry." She apologized, face scrunched. "Guess it's fair to say the kiss was satisfactory?"

"Yes." Ignis and Noctis answered simultaneously.


	46. A Boot

Guess who worked an insane number of hours then had minor surgery again?

So pardon the delay in posting. And I'm totally fine I promise I just have the worst update schedule ever

* * *

"Care for a walk with me?" Ignis asked and cleared his throat, offering an extended hand to Aranea. She smiled and took it with a nod, winking at Lunafreya before and the pair started off away from the others. Crowe slapped her hands together and made a comment about not wanting to feel like a third wheel and walked off, Gladiolus followed her and asked aloud if he counted as a forth wheel thus making them a working car and got a middle finger in answer.

"That. Umm. Was unexpected. What the hell did you guys eat and how do I get you to eat more of it?" Noctis asked when he turned his attention back to Lunafreya.

" _Drink._ What have you been up to yourself?" she asked.

"Just talking to my dad." He shrugged, some of his unease wearing off seeing Lunafreya's slack pose, and the somewhat playful way she linked her arms behind her back.

"How is he?" She asked. His smile faltered and he shrugged.

"Fiddling with radios, trying to get information from inside Insomnia. Airship activity has caused him to hide inside during the day, and the daemons at night mean they can't go outside so he has pretty bad cabin fever." He summarized, thinking about the various details he had been brought up to speed on that were swimming around his brain trying to sort themselves.

"Any news?" she asked him, voice lifting and he winced at the anticipation in her tone.

"Nothing. Just lots of static. Occasional music station probably from the area. How are you feeling?"

"I'd rather you not deflect. we've talked on me quite enough." she rebuked.

"Any pain?" He continued, undeterred. She let out a breath through her nose, silence hung between them for a few seconds before she nodded.

"Nothing severe." she insisted.

"But you're still hurting."

"And I will for some time."

"You should _rest_. How do you expect to save the world if you won't at least go take a nap after diving off an airship?" he asked. She chuckled, a small snort breaking it. "Did you just snort?" Noctis started chuckling and then she broke into a genuine laugh, a second snort caused her to slap her hand over her mouth. "I've never heard you snort before!" they laughed and Lunafreya dropped her head to bury her face in her hands. Noctis stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. "I love you my ridiculous dork."

"Oh, _I'm_ the dork?"

"Well of course you are. You like fantasy. Isn't that just, default?" She pouted and slapped at his arm.

"Says the sword collector."

"I never claimed I wasn't a dork too!"

"Surely I must be insane for falling in love with you."

"We're both pretty crazy" She said and smiled, and stood on her toes to kiss him once more.

Lunafreya was asleep on the trailer's bed and Noctis was bent over a map of Lucis. Ignis sat across from the small table looking down at it as well with Aranea to his left. Red circles marked all the known Royal Arm locations, and a black X marked the ones already obtained. He tried to focus on the ones he already obtained, and see it as work accomplished. But the red circles remaining were daunting. He couldn't fathom the thought of taking on an Astral. Or another Niflheim base that would be retaken within a week. He curled his fingers and grit his teeth together as he tried to mentally map out their path.

"Noct?" Ignis asked.

"It's just a lot." Noctis answered.

"A lot has already been accomplished." Noctis looked up from the map, running both hands through his hair and winced as they snagged on some tangles and blew out a hard breath.

"Seriously. You gotta buck up there Emo Prince." Aranea added.

"Yeah." He replied and shrugged, drumming his fingers against his thigh. "So next… I was thinking this one, Balouve Mines... I was talking to my old man about how Hammerhead is holding up and nights have been rough. Cid said these mines used to have some ridiculous lights to repel the daemons since daylight never reaches down there. We can go get the royal arm down there and snag some lights on our way back out." Noctis suggested, and looked up to see Ignis's reaction. He had his arms crossed and looked down at the map and nodded his agreement.

"This sounds like an easy one for once." Aranea replied. "Good idea with Crazy over there. Bet you a million gil she won't let you leave her behind so a place full of daemon-repelling lights is perfect. So with plans laid out anyone else hungry?"

"Didn't you just eat?" Ignis asked.

"Mostly drank. Some eating might have happened but the booze absorbed it all so I'm hungry again."

"I do not believe it works like that…" Ignis replied.

"Don't pretend you're not hungry." Aranea argued back.

"I could eat." He admitted and decided not to doubt her further. "Noctis, care to join us?"

"No thanks. Got some cup-a-noodle I'll nuke." Nocits answered and pointed up to the cabinets. "Go eat… don't give me that look!" Ignis chuckled and held up his palms, shaking his head and following Aranea out of the trailer. Once the door clicked shut he groaned and lolled his head back, immediately righting himself with a sharp hiss, rubbing the back of his head that he struck on the faux-wood behind the nook that mimicked a dining room table. Lunafreya groaned and he frowned, turning to look at the mound of blankets shift as she rolled to her other side and her face appeared from beneath them.

"Noct?" She mumbled, rubbing under her eye with her thumb and wincing when she accidentally touched the dark bruise.

"Sorry. Go back to sleep." He apologized.

"Where are Ignis and Araena?"

"Gone to eat. You hungry?" he asked. She shook her head, a hand appearing from under the blankets and she pat at the bit of space next to her.

"Tad cold."

"I mean, I can go turn the heat up." He answered, pointing at the wall.

"I always had the impression that men were born with the instinct to defenestrate those that dare touch a thermostat?"

"That instinct only counts if the thermostat actually does anything."

"So your suggestion to turn up the heat was merely to shut me up?" She pouted her bottom lip in an exaggerated frown and Noctis laughed and shook his head.

"Or I meant to _turn up the heat_ another way?" he suggested. He got up from his seat, hissing a breath and rubbing at his thigh as an electric pain shot down his left leg.

"You okay?" she asked, sitting up in the bed. He nodded at her, rubbing at his leg for a few more moments before walking over to her and climbing up to join her. He reached to catch her wrist as her fingertips started to glow when she reached for him, shaking his head.

"I'm okay. Just stood up a little too fast after sitting on my ass for so long."

"It takes nothing from me to merely offer you a bit of comfort." She argued, and reached for him again. Her fingertips stroked the back of his hand, and she withdrew her arm quickly.

"What?" he asked, jerking his own hand away in response to her startle.

"I… I feel the Blight." She explained. Her brow came together and she was looking at his arms then up to his face, reaching out for him again.

"Were you having a nightmare or something? I'm fine."

"What? No. I mean, I _was…._ but not regarding this."

"Luna I'm fine." He insisted, reaching to grasp her hand. "If i had the Blight wouldn't I have all those weird black marks?" he asked. She squeezed his hand, lifting it and staring down at the back of it.

"I can feel it." She insisted. Her hands glowed again and he pulled back from her, tucking his arms behind his back so she couldn't grab him again. "Oh come now."

"I'm _fine._ "

"You may not feel it, but I have spent much of my life offering my light to others, I know what I feel."

"You need rest…" he tried instead, getting another head shake.

"Rest I shall have. But I wish not for the Blight to wrap itself within you. Please." She asked. She reached out, pressing her hand to his cheek, wiggling her fingers in the sling wrapped around her chest as she leaned towards him. She tried to reach for where she could feel the contamination, and didn't know from where she could feel it. She took in a breath, whispering her prayer. Noctis could feel the breath of her prayer tickle his nose, still smelling faintly of alcohol and resisting the urge to tease her about how badly she needed to go brush her teeth. She lingered, sitting back with a perplexed expression. "Odd."

"What?"

"I can feel the blight but typically I can feel where to pour my light. Perhaps you were right." She dropped her gaze and laid back down on her back, wincing and turning onto her side to get off her injured ribs.

"The Blight is everywhere… maybe that's what you're feeling." He suggestd. She nodded, though she doubted his words. Noctis lied down next to her on his side, reaching out to brush his fingers against her arm.

"The reason we must press on." He wanted to argue for rest, insist on sleep and taking a break. He could feel the itch in his palms crawling up his arms, causing him to reach up and scratch behind his shoulder. The scar on his lower back burned sending sharp pains shooting down his left leg. His whole body ached, and his eyes eternally felt heavy.

"We were thinking Balouve Mines." He said.

"The next arm?" Noctis nodded. "Your ancestors chose quite the odd place to hide their tombs."

"Ignis tried giving me a history lesson on why they put tomb in the mines. Had to do with modernizing Lucis." Noctis answered.

"When did you want to set out?" she asked.

"Didn't decide yet."

"Not in the morning?"

"Need a little more time to think things out. We wanted to get some lights from the mines to beef up Hammerhead's security. So we need to check out how many lights we need, the types of bulbs, stuff like that." He answered, speaking quicker than usual. She nodded at this, and he felt relieved that she wasn't arguing against the short delay. "Still chilly?"

"A bit." She answered and smiled at him. He smiled back at her and shifted closer and tilted his head to capture her lips in a kiss. When he drew back she reached up threading her fingers through his hair and captured him another, her tongue pressed against his lip and he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, moaning against her.

She shifted and laid partially on her back as he moved to hover over her. When they parted he tilted his head and pressed his lips against her neck in a light kiss, getting that delightful sigh and she tilted her head away from him. His opened his mouth to suck lightly against her neck, her next sigh deeper and encouraged by this dared to press his teeth against her.

"Noct… you'll leave a mark." she whispered, making no move to push him away. He kissed the spot he had bitten, his lips and tongue soothing the pleasurable ache. His next kiss was against the crook where her neck met her shoulder and her fingers tugged his hair as she curled her fingers sighing again and rolling her shoulder back and trying to arch her neck.

"Just pull your hoodie up." Noctis replied and bit down against her neck again. She sighed, and he shifted his weight against her causing her to gasp. He drew back quickly and bumped his head against the metal wall causing him to rub the back of his head and curse.

"You all right?" Lunafreya asked, sitting up with a wince.

"Yeah…" He grumbled, looking at his fingertips and back up to her. "You? did I hurt you?"

"I'm just sore, I shall be all right." She answered.

"I should be more careful."

"Well. I do suppose it is possible for you to make it up to me." Her following grin had a smile tugging at Noctis's lips and he leaned back over her, cautious where he put his weight. His eyes closed when he kissed her, and he felt her arm reach up around his neck, thumb playing with the hair on the back of his neck. His hand cupped her cheek, his thumb playing with her earlobe. His free hand brushed lightly against her stomach and curled to start lifting the hem of her shirt. She broke the kiss and let a long hard sigh against his cheek, turning her head to plant a kiss as he started to stroke the bare skin before he tried to be suave and undo the button on her pants with one hand. He managed, and with them sufficiently loosened lid his fingers inside, earning another gasp from Lunafreya that sent his heart racing and blood rushing.

The door to the trailer opened, the structure creaking as Ignis stepped up inside. Noctis withdrew his hand quickly, Lunafreya reaching to try and re-button the top of her pants wincing when she reflexively tried to move her injured arm. Noctis tried to rectify the situation, the heat in his cheeks making him sure that his face probably matched Lunafreya's crimson flush.

"I left my jacket-" Ignis started and cut himself off, clearing his throat the moment he saw the royal pair. "Excuse me. I should have knocked." He turned and left the trailer clicking the door shut. Nocits flopped onto his back and pressed his hands against his face.

"Should have locked the door. I always lock the door. Why did I forget to lock the door?"

"I had a slip of memory as well." Lunafreya said from beside him. He sat up and looked at her feeling concern settle in his chest but was surprised to see that she was _giggling_. "At least it was Ignis… he is least likely to give us trouble."

"Yeah. He might actually have some common decency."

"Can we hide in here for the remainder of the night so I need not show my face to him regardless." She asked, lying on her back and staring up at the ceiling.

"I can go lock the doors and tell the others to fuck themselves when they want to sleep."

"Tempting revenge, but seems cruel." It was a few more moments before she sat up and tugged her shirt back down, batting away Noctis's hand when he reached over to try and help her.

"I still say lock them out."

"But then Ignis shall be forced to explain why." She countered. "Buy some cheese and hide it in Ignis's shoes tonight." She mumbled.  
"Wanna go waste our gil on some chocolate to stuff our faces with while I go get that cheese?" Noctis suggested.

"I think I wish to abstain from moving." Lunafreya replied. He rolled onto his shoulder and shifted closer to her, nuzzling her neck with his nose.

"What if I go get some chocolate for us?" He offered instead.

"Now there you have a tempting offer," she turned her head and nearly hit her forehead against his. "But that would mean you would have to leave the trailer and I'm quite warm right now." She added with a whisper.

"Can't have you cold now." Noctis replied. He leaned over her and kissed her again. She was quick to reciprocate, tongue darting out, and his matched hers. A rare moan rumbled in her throat and she wound her arm around his neck and let her hand slide across his neck and cupped his cheek. Her thumb rolled a circle in front of his ear and flicked his earlobe. She tilted her head as he broke the kiss, cupping her face in return. She heaved a heavy sigh and nuzzled her cheek against his palm.

"You really are like a cat sometimes."

"Maybe I should scratch you?" she asked and made a swat at his face and a light _hiss_ before she bit down on the tip of her tongue, poking through her lips and smiling up at him.

"You're the cheesiest human ever maybe I just need to just have you wear Ignis's shoes for five minutes."

"Is that an implication that I smell foul? Mayhaps I too shall be cast to sleep outside to air out the trailer?"

"It's just the others I want to lock out all night. Besides, there's advantages to a little privacy." He smirked.

They ended up deciding _not_ to lock their friends out of the trailer. Ignis and Aranea took the table-turned-bed, Gladiolus cursing his job as a shield and taking the couch. Prompto and Crowe each slept inside Hammerhead rather than curl up on the floor of the trailer. Lunafreya had fallen asleep on her side, allowing Noctis's arm to be draped around her. Noctis found himself having difficulty falling asleep, instead lying on his side cursing the fact he couldn't pull his phone out to occupy his mind with a movie. He rolled onto his back, the arm tucked under him going him and started stretching his arms out before him getting that satisfying pop in his shoulder that sent a shot of electric numbness running down his right arm before fading and taking the ache with it.

A hard pounding on the door made them flinch, and Noctis sat up sharply, hitting his head on the bed's low ceiling and cursed loud enough to make Lunafreya sit up and hiss a hard huff of air and clutch her arm closer to her chest. Gladiolus was already off the couch and crossing the two-step distance to the door and tossing it open. His planned angry rant at being woken up was cut off by Prompto's frantic voice,

"Get out here! Holy shit dudes!" Noctis couldn't see him from the bed but could see that Ignis and Aranea were scrambling over to the door.

"Stay here." He tried to order Lunafreya.

"No." She said simply and pushed past him to leave the trailer, Noctis pulling up rear to climb out of the trailer. Outside Crowe was hurling fireballs at a large shadow, revealed to be a red-skinned creature with peeling skin. Black webbing covered its body, the edges of which marked where skin was peeling away from. Dark ichor oozed from the wounds causing an overpowering stench forcing everyone running from the trailer to clamp their hands over their noses. It had to asymmetrical limbs, one long tentacled limb coiled around a cleaver half the size of its own body, the other a hand with clumps of flesh missing hanging uselessly by its side.

"What the hell is that?!" Noctis asked, throat felt too tight and his voice too high. He called his Engine Blade. Lunafreya stared at the weapon in his hand as it appeared with a flash of blue and black. More flashes and the rest of the retinue brandished their weapons. Seeing the new threat the beast stepped back, letting out a wet gurgling howl cut off in a hacking cough as it rolled its tentacled shoulder bringing the cleaver in a long arc through the air. Crowe jumped to the side, bringing an arm to cover her eyes as dust kicked up and she back-pedaled as she squinted through the hazy air.

"Hey asshole!" Gladiolus shouted and charged at the creature. He coughed coming closer to the foul stench and swung his greatsword at its hip. It stepped back, but the Shield managed to pivot and bring his blow down and the sword hit its thigh with a meaty _thunk_. He tore it back with a grunt and started to swing for another blow.

"Oh Gods!" Prompto exclaimed, trying to jump back in the darkness away from whatever moisture had just touched his arm. He shouted again and squinted against the flash of the trademark flash of Lunafreya's shield being impacted. He leapt to the side and felt dust kick him so close he wondered how he wasn't cleaved in two. "Owe you one Luna!"

"Just focus!" She called back, already panting. She dropped her arm and tried to back away and better assess their situation. Noctis had charged ahead to alternate hacking at the daemon's leg with Gladiolus. Despite its size the beast was able to pivot and bring down its cleaver with surprising speed, forcing the two men to dash away. She saw Crowe throw a fireball and debated if she held the strength to again force the fire against the daemon's flesh. But her brief shield had shattered before taking the full brunt of the cleaver, and doubted her ability to withstand Crowe's fire. She turned to follow a blurred shadow and saw it was Aranea leaping into the air. Her polearm was forced into the shoulder of the daemon, causing it to turn and roll said shoulder knocking the polearm loose. It clattered to the ground, the daemon stepped forward before Araena could recover her weapon. She leapt back to dodge a swing of the cleaver, cursing loudly, leaping back again anticipating a backswing.

Lunafreya's attention shifted as Ignis shouted an order, though she couldn't discern his words. His hand moved quickly, the light of Crowe's flames reflected off his dagger as it spun and silently buried into the daemon's neck. It bellowed, twisting, and dug the blade deeper into its own flesh as it tried to rub its head against its shoulder to dislodge the offending object and turned away from Aranea. The swollen fingers on the limp limb wiggled and clenched. Noctis and Gladiolus charged again at the injured leg again, and Lunafreya cast a shield above their heads as terror closed around her throat and the pounding of her heart drowned out all sound. Her eyes burned as she kept her focus, her extended arm trembling as she tried to re-cast shields to match the mad movements of the cleaver cutting through the air.

The daemon's leg buckled with a nauseating squelch and crack, Gladiolus shouting to get back and Noctis warped towards Lunafreya the pair exchanging short nods and turned back to the fight. Gladiolus used his sword to deflect a clumsy swing from the tentacle, and got knocked into the dirt, his sword wretched from his grip. Lunafreya flashed another shield into place, but the cleaver missed and she was able to drop it and started panting for breath, willing her light to stay in her fingertips. Ignis and Prompto rushed to the dropped cleaver, working together to drag it out of the daemon's wiggling reach. Gladiolus was clambering back onto his feet and picked up his sword, nodding to Noctis who had run up beside him and clapped a hand over his shoulder.

Noctis raised his Engine Blade and brought it down against the reaching tentacle, Aranea's polearm stabbed through the hand, groaning with the effort of straining against the writhing movements cursing the pavement beneath them. Crowe rushed forward and scalded the daemon's eyes. The screech filled the air and covered up whatever Gladiolus was attempting to shout. Gladiolus lifted his blade above the daemon's neck and brought it down, silencing it. He dropped his greatsword and jumped back from the spurts of blood pulsing from the wounds. His companions all did the same, staring at the convulsing creature. The blood spurts became quicker, then slower, then stopped. The thrashing limbs settled to a quiver, twitching for several seconds, and stilled.

They all stared at it, waiting for some last minute movement a final attack. The air was thick with a foul stench that made approaching the daemon difficult. Gladiolus was the first one who managed to get the guts to do so, his jacket pulled up and around his face. He pushed against the daemon's cheek with his boot and back away quick shaking his head and gagging.

"Guess we all watch too many horror movies, waiting for it to jump up or something." Prompto broke the silence, ending with a forced laugh.

"This _is_ a fuckin' horror movie, who you kidding?" Crowe asked. She picked her shirt up over her face and dared approach. Lunafreya let her light fade from her fingertips, and noted again that when Noctis vanished his Engine Blade vanished with a blue light tained with black.

"I've never seen one like this." Ignis said.

"Fuck I'll never _un_ see it." Crowe replied.

"Or un _smell_ it." Aranea added.

"Whoa, look at this." Prompto pointed down at the hand-limb, kicking to indicate what he meant. Along the backs of the knuckles were letters spelling _fate_ and a needle along the thumb. He balanced on one foot to lift the hand with his boot and saw another tattoo on the wrist, a woman's name wrapped in thorns. "Since when do daemons get tattoos?" he asked, looking around at the others.

"Just ate someone and superglued a hand to its shoulder?" Crowe suggested.

"What did it do, inflate the hand with an air compressor until it was the size of your head first?" Aranea asked, crossing her arms. She walked around until she was standing behind the daemon's head and gagged, pulling her shirt up over her nose like the others. She used her polearm to poke at the face, cocking her head to the side as she wedged the mouth open. "Gold tooth."

"The hell are we looking at." Crowe asked, her voice dropping an octave.

"Allow me." Lunafreya said, feeling the quiver on her voice deep in her throat. Her hands were still trembling, and she hugged her injured arm closer to her chest. It was almost maddening trying to think through the haze of fatigue and the heaviness in her eyes. She brought the light back up to her hand, hovering over the daemon's chest for a moment and pressed down. She could feel blight sitting inside of it. But felt nothing else. She jerked her hand back, trying to look the creature over. She felt the fatigue vanish almost instantly. Her head immediately felt light and her heart raced in her chest. On the disproportioned foot at the bottom of the too-skinny limb was a boot.


End file.
